Life Goes On
by Kcoquete
Summary: Austin and Trish left Miami to go on a World Tour. Ally and Dez stayed behind in Miami. Now they all have to learn that life goes on.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She sank wearily back into the cushioned seat of the rocking chair, feeling the tension from the day start to seep away. This was her favorite time of day.

It was twilight, the light from the sunset streaming through the half closed curtains. She could sit here forever it seemed. She snuggled the small warm body closer to her as she looked down at the small mouth nursing at her breast.

Feeding her son before she put him to bed for the night was the best part of the day, when there was nothing there but the two of them.

"What are you doing here? And what are you _doing_," questioned an angry male voice from the doorway.

She sighed to herself as she looked up. "Hey," she half-whispered. "Do you mind giving me a couple of minutes, he's almost asleep."

The very angry man let his gaze drop from her face to the child snuggled in her arms. "What is going on here," he questioned again.

"Really," she asked sarcastically. "I'm feeding our son and he's just about to fall asleep. Please go downstairs and I will be there in a couple of minutes."

He swallowed hard and turned from the doorway to trudge down the stairs. He stopped in the living room and drifted over to the couch.

Wasn't this an interesting evening. First, his parents told him he had to stay at a hotel and then they didn't want him to come to the house. The house he grew up in. He was supposed to meet them at his hotel a little while ago, but he had wanted to see what they were hiding from him.

And now he knew. They were hiding her. Her and a baby. His baby, if he was to believe her. And why wouldn't he believe her. She'd never lied to him before. It felt like his life was spinning out of control.

He let his head fall into his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees. And that is how she found him when she came downstairs after putting the baby into his crib.

"Hey, Austin," she breathed, just wanting this moment to be over.

He lifted his head slowly and then snapped his gaze to her. "Ally," he said coldly. "What is going on?"

She dropped her eyes from his as she made her way to a chair facing the couch. "I didn't want you to find out this way..."

"Find out what exactly," he furiously exclaimed. "Are you seriously sitting there calmly telling me that that…that that child up there is mine!?"

Ally sighed again as tears welled up in her eyes. She shook her head and tried to put her thoughts in order. As she thought back over the events of the past year, however, she found herself getting angrier and angrier.

"How dare you come in here and question me about this," she spat at him, her eyes going darker than he had ever seen them. "If you hadn't abandoned me, or if you had even taken one my phone calls then you would have been made aware of everything."

She was seething suddenly, how _dare_ he put this all on her.

He was taken aback. He had rarely seen her so angry, and then it usually had something to do with him touching her precious book. He didn't know how to react to this Ally.

"I...I just want to know what's going on. Is that really my child upstairs?" Austin tried to control his anger, but was losing that battle.

"I am not in the mood to discuss any of this with you tonight." She was trying to be calm, but seeing Austin again brought everything right back to the surface. All of the pain she had suffered because of him was simmering inside her, ready to boil over at any moment. "I'd like you to leave."

He was astonished. "You can't kick me out," he yelled. "I live here."

"You used to live here," his mother, Mimi, said from the doorway. "We asked you not to come here. We asked you to meet us at your hotel. We asked you to respect that decision and now..." She let her voice drift off.

"Ally, I'm so sorry. We should have informed you that Austin was back in town. We were just trying to protect you," his father continued.

"Told her...protect her...," Austin spluttered. "You are _my_ parents."

His parents turned their angry faces toward him.

"Someone had to be there for Ally," his father angrily answered him. "You were certainly nowhere to be found when she needed you!"

Austin ducked his head. He knew he was treading on thin ice here, but he was having trouble wrapping his head around what was going on here.

"It's time for you to go, son," his father said. "This house has been disrupted enough for one night. You may come back in the morning for breakfast and to continue this discussion."

"But," Austin began as he shot to his feet.

"No buts, young man," his father insisted. "We'll see you in the morning."

Austin glanced over at Ally, who had been silently sobbing in her chair. She had a hand pressed to her mouth and she wouldn't look at him. She looked...she looked broken. He sighed then, in defeat.

He had already caused her so much pain, he couldn't bring himself to do any more. He said softly "I'm sorry... I guess I'll see you in the morning."

He turned and quietly left his childhood home.

Ally continued crying softly as she heard the door close behind him. Mimi moved to rub her shoulder. "Ally, sweetie, I'm so sorry."

Ally shook her head and tried to control the tears. "No Mimi, I should have expected this. I knew the tour was over. He was bound to show up sometime."

"I'm going to go upstairs to bed now. I'll see you in the morning." Ally got up and moved through the living room to the stairs.

She slowly climbed the stairs and dragged herself to her room. Austin's room. So many memories swept over her as she entered the room and closed the door.

She went to the crib and looked down on her sleeping son. A smile graced her face for the first time since Austin had appeared that night.

It was a miracle, how much joy this one small person had brought to her life. He absolutely filled her soul with happiness.

She frowned to herself when she heard a buzzing sound from across the room. Her phone.

She crossed the room to the dresser and checked the message. Dez was going to show them the video he had made after they both arrived. She smiled to herself, a tiny bitter smile.

She set the phone down gently and began getting ready for bed. It would be interesting to see what happened next. Tomorrow morning was just the beginning.

How would Austin react to the video? She had seen it and Dez had done an amazing job condensing the last year. It was painful to watch for her, but she hoped that Austin and Trish would be enlightened by it.

Her phone buzzed again and she looked back down at it. Work was wondering if she would be available tomorrow for a meeting at 1pm. She thought for a minute before answering in the negative.

The morning was going to be an emotional roller coaster and she was going to need time to recover.

Her phone buzzed again, but this time she frowned at the text. She ignored it and turned her phone off. She was in no mood to talk to Trish tonight either.

She set the phone aside and changed into her pajamas. As she slid into bed her mind drifted back to the night her son had been conceived...

_It was the night of graduation. Austin, Ally, Dez and Trish had all graduated from High School and it was about a week before Austin and Trish would be leaving on Austin's first World Tour._

_They had gone to Sonic Boom where their parents had held a massive joint Graduation party for them, but soon enough the four friends had escaped to the practice room. They just listened to the noise from the party begin to wane as people made their way out of the store._

"_Let's get out of here and do something crazy," Austin exclaimed as he paced around the room, too full of energy to sit down._

_Dez said he had to go home with his folks so he could feed his pet turtle and Trish said she had to get started on her packing as they both left the room._

_Ally turned around on the piano bench and said "Austin settle down."_

"_But I can't," he whined. "I just really want to get out of her and go do something fun."_

"_A party for us is fun Austin," Ally smiled. Before he could counter her argument she held up a hand. "What do you want to do? I'm up for anything."_

"_Anything, Ally?"_

_She smiled at him and nodded. "Let's make the most of our Austin and Ally time while it lasts."_

_He stopped in front of her an pulled her to her feet. He leaned down and kissed her softly. "Let's do that."_

_They went to the beach, it was one of their favorite places to be together. He pulled the sleeping bag out of his trunk as she grabbed his hand. They walked toward the water and spread out the bag. They lay there together watching the stars light up the sky. _

_She turned to him and whispered, "I'm going to miss you."_

"_I'm going to miss you, too," He whispered back._

_She leaned into him and he leaned into her and they were kissing. Kissing as if their very lives depended upon it. Kissing to forget. Kissing to remember. Kissing..._

_They fell asleep connected and still kissing, the love they had shared filling them both even as it created a new life that neither of them had been aware of that night. _

_The next morning they woke up entwined in each other. As the sunrise broke over the ocean, they kissed again._

"_This was the best night of my life, Als," Austin breathed into her mussed hair. "I love you so much."_

"_I love you, too Austin," She answered as she pulled his head to hers for another kiss..._

Ally began to cry again as those memories, those feeling filled her up again. She cried herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I do not own Austin & Ally, just taking the characters out and playing with them.**

****Chapter 2

Austin slid into his rental car and hit the steering wheel. What the hell had just happened? He was torn from his thoughts by a buzzing in his pocket.

He pulled his phone out reluctantly hoping that nothing else was going to happen that night. He read the text and almost threw the phone out the window. Would this night never end.

The text was from his manager Trish asking for him to join her at their friend Dez's house. It was an emergency, the text said. Great, he thought to himself, he hadn't treated his best friend any better than he had treated Ally when he left to go on tour last year. This should be even more fun.

He started his car and drove to his friends house.

When he arrived, Trish was waiting for him outside.

"Austin," she exclaimed. "Dez won't let me in until you get here! He won't tell me why though."

"What?" Austin knew this night was going to be a long one, how was he even supposed to tell Ally's best friend that she had had a baby. His baby, at that.

Trish was obviously not aware of the situation, because there was no way she could have kept something like that from Austin.

"Let's just go in," he said tiredly. He followed Trish to Dez's door and rang the bell.

He smiled when Dez answered, but he got no smile in return. Austin held his had out to do the usual fist bump, but Dez just stared at his had for a minute before looking away.

"Austin. Trish." Dez looked unhappy and very serious.

This was going to be a very, very long night. Austin and Trish followed Dez down to the basement where Dez' TV and gaming stuff was, but somehow Austin doubted they were going to play video games.

Trish kept asking what they were doing there and what Dez wanted to show them, but Dez wasn't answering.

When they arrived in the basement, Dez indicated they should sit on the couch.

"What I'm about to show you is some video that I shot over the past year. I want you to watch it and pay attention. I started filming Ally as she did stuff just to not be bored when you guys left."

"It's not like we completely abandoned you when we left Dez," Trish interrupted him, rolling her eyes.

Dez turned his angry gaze to her until she looked away guiltily.

"Oh, I guess you both had your reasons for going away on tour. I get that," Dez said quietly. "What I don't get is the way you both treated Ally and I. You left for tour and we barely had a phone call or a text from you. But if it makes you feel better, you can think you didn't abandon us completely."

He clenched his jaw and looked away from the people sitting on his couch. He sighed and looked back. "But that's not what we're here for tonight. I have to show you the movie of Ally's life over the past year."

"Dez...," Austin began.

But Dez cut him off. "I know you have questions. I know you want to tell me that you know what's been going on, but neither one of you has any idea how hard this past year has been on the ones you left behind."

He turned away from Austin and Trish and started fiddling with his DVD player.

Austin and Trish exchanged an uneasy look. They both looked away just as quickly, because they knew how they had treated their friends, and it wasn't pretty. They both had good reasons to feel guilty.

Austin did not want to watch whatever it was that Dez had prepared. He really didn't. He also knew there was no getting out of it and maybe it would help him understand what had happened earlier this evening at his house.

The lights dimmed and the video began.

_The first scene was set in Sonic Boom. It was Austin and Trish's going away party. Ally was nestled in Austin's arms and Trish and Dez were bickering in the background._

"_We'll keep in touch," Austin was saying to everyone. "Team Austin will stay strong even though half of us will be out on tour and the other half will be here."_

…_..._

_Still Sonic Boom... Ally is sitting alone on the piano bench in the practice room._

"_Hey Ally," Dez says from behind the camera. "Have you heard from Trish or Austin yet?" _

"_Yeah," she answered. "I talked to Austin last week. For about a minute, but he cut me off again saying how busy he was. And Trish hasn't answered any of my calls. It's been a month since they left and it just feels like they have forgotten all about us."_

"_I know, I'm sorry," Dez answered. "They haven't returned any of my calls either."_

"_This totally sucks," Ally said as she began to cry. She laid he head down on the piano and sobbed as Dez backed out of the room._

…_..._

_Again in the practice room at Sonic Boom...Ally is sitting on the couch this time, but she is still crying._

_She dials her phone, holds it to her ear and listens as it rings. She sighs and tries to stop the flow of tears. "Voice mail again. Austin listen, it's Ally. I really need to talk to you. It is incredibly important that you return my call. Please. I know that things have changed between us, but...please just call me back."_

_She ends the call and tries to stop crying._

"_Ally," Dez asked. "What's going on? What do you need to tell him that's so important?"_

_She shook her head and continued crying._

_Dez tried again. "Please tell me, maybe I can help."_

_She started to shake her head again, but just then her phone began to ring. She looked at the phone in her hand and her face lit up "It's him," she breathed. "Austin," she said happily as she answered the phone._

_Her face crumpled as she listened. "Trish. I really need to speak with Austin. Why are you calling me on his phone?"_

"_Yes it is extremely important."_

"_No I can't tell you, I have to tell him first."_

_Ally was getting more and more agitated. "Trish, you're my best friend but I really need to talk to Austin."_

_Ally stood up and all the color drained out of her face as she listened intently to Trish. She looked frozen as she shook her head and looked at the front of her phone. "She just told me to stop calling them, both of them."_

_She shook her head as if to clear it. "They are too busy and stressed out with everything going on with the tour to deal with any of our 'little kid drama' back home. Then she hung up on me."_

_Ally looked like she couldn't believe what had just happened._

…_..._

_Sonic Boom's sales floor...Ally was sitting at the grand piano playing softly._

"_Will you tell me what's going on with you now, Ally?" Dez tried. "It's been two weeks since that phone call from Trish. Please talk to me. You're starting to scare me."_

"_Sorry, Dez," she answered as she stopped playing and tuned to face him. "I just don't know what to do."_

"_Just talk to me," Dez begged._

_Ally nodded. "Can you turn the camera off?"_

…_..._

_Sonic Boom's sales floor...All hell is breaking loose._

_Ally's parents are fighting and Austin's parents are there as well. All you can hear is indistinct arguing from everyone until..._

"_Shut up!," Ally screams. "All of you just shut up!"_

_All of the adults in the room stop arguing and turn to face Ally, shocked by her behavior._

"_It's true," she begins. "I'm pregnant...and it is Austin's. Neither Trish nor Austin is taking my calls any longer and I really feel that this should come from me. He should hear that I'm having his child from me..."_

"_I appreciate you wanting to contact him for me Mike and Mimi, but he has to talk to me. Dad, I know you are disappointed in me, but you have no right to call me the names that you have been."_

_Lester hung his head._

"_Mom, I know that you have to leave for Africa again, but I'm due at the end of February and it would mean a lot to me if you were home when I had my baby."_

_Penny leaned closer and said, "Anything for you sweetie."_

_But apparently both of her parents did not agree with that statement. "You're not honestly going to have this baby are you," Lester spit at her._

"_Of course, I am. I am one of the people who got me here. I am not about to do anything to jeopardize this child's life. I am having Austin Moon's baby and you can't stop me." Ally was defiant._

_Lester spoke again, coldly. "You're right I can't make you have an abortion or give this baby up, but I can kick you out of my house and fire you."_

_Everyone gasped. Ally took a deep breath and began to speak when Mimi stepped forward. "This is our son's child and even though he is being an ass right now, this is his responsibility."_

"_Ally, sweetie," Mike interjected, "you can live with us until you have the baby and get on your feet. You can even give music lessons there if you want to."_

"_Mike and I will stand in for Austin until he can pull his head out of wherever he stuck it when he left and steps up to do the right thing," Mimi finished._

…_..._

_The next part of the video was a montage of Ally. She grew larger with every picture that floated by, as the seasons passed. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Then a hospital room came into view._

"_Dez, I swear if you don't keep that camera out from between my legs I will get down off this bed and shove it up your...oooooowwwww! This really hurts," Ally screamed._

_As the picture focused on Ally's face and the two women beside her, Dez apologized. Both Mimi and Penny frowned at Dez and then turned their attention back to the petite girl between them._

"_Bring me a set of forceps," the doctor barked as the camera faded to black._

…_..._

"_Sorry I passed out in there Ally," Dez said. "There was just so much...so much."_

"_It's all right Dez," Ally smiled at him over the small bundle she was holding carefully. "I didn't really want you filming that part anyway. I just want you to meet my son."_

_She turned the small bundle toward the camera and Dez focused on the small face. "This is my son, Tyler Michael Moon."_

_Video fades to black_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I do not own anything About Austin and Ally.**

Chapter 3

Austin sat there quietly, on the couch next to Trish and drew a shaky breath. He could hear Trish crying next to him.

"What have I done? What have we done?" She sobbed beside me.

"I don't know," Austin responded as he pushed a hand through his hair.

"I do," Dez said bitterly. "You went off on tour and instead of keeping the promises you made, you completely messed up. You left us behind and didn't give a crap when we called you, when we texted you. You both just went on your merry way and forgot both Ally and I."

He shook his head and clenched his jaw. He looked so angry.

"And you...," he began, pointing his finger at Austin. "You lied to her. You told her you loved her and that you would do everything you could to make sure that nothing changed. You just walked away, you didn't even have the balls to tell her what was going on. I know you could tell she was crying when she left those messages."

Austin looked away guiltily. "I know, man. I screwed up. I have no excuse."

"I hope you are planning to do the right thing here, Austin." Dez was staring daggers at me.

"Man," I said, "I don't know what the right thing to do is."

Austin stood up and started pacing back and forth. He came to an abrupt stop when Trish started yelling.

"Oh. My. God." Trish hollered. "You cannot do the right thing. This cannot come out. What would your record label think. We have to keep this as quiet as possible, so you don't ruin your career. I'll talk to Ally tomorrow and see if we can't work this out."

"Ally doesn't want to talk to you, Trish," Dez spit at her.

She looked shocked. "What do you mean. Of course she wants to talk to me. I'm her best friend."

Dez shook his head. "No, Trish, you're not. You haven't been her friend since you took his side and told her to stop calling you."

Trish was looking a little crazed as she began to argue with Dez. "No, that's not true. She'll forgive me, she always does. I'll just go to her house tomorrow and we'll work everything out."

"Didn't you just see the video. Weren't you paying attention? She doesn't live at her house anymore, her dad kicked her out and she hasn't spoken to him since."

"But...," Trish sputtered. "But, her mom was in the room when she had the baby."

Dez agreed, "Yes, she was. And so was Austin's, but you didn't see her dad did you? He seriously kicked her out and the Moon's took her in"

"So she's at Austin's house," Trish responded. "We'll just go over there and work everything all out."

She jumped up and headed for the stairs.

"We can't go over there," Austin said softly, causing Trish to turn around. "I went over there earlier because my parents were acting all weird about me going to the house. They told me I had to stay at a hotel and they would just meet me there."

Austin pushed his hand through his hair again and sighed. "I saw Ally. I saw the baby. My parents kicked me out and invited me over for breakfast. To talk."

"Is Ally okay," Dez asked.

Austin looked at Dez again. "I don't know. She was crying when I left."

Dez shook his head and looked at the time. "She's probably already turned her phone off for the night. Are you going over in the morning to talk to her?"

"Yeah, I am," Austin answered.

"I'm going with you," Trish interjected.

Austin shook his head at her. "Listen, Trish. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the morning and I'm not entirely sure you should be part of that discussion. I have to deal with this. With Ally. Just me. This has nothing to do with my career at the moment."

"But," she tried again. "I have things to say to her, too."

"I know," Austin answered, "but let's just deal with one thing at a time, okay?"

Trish nodded sadly. "I should probably get back to my parents. I'll just hang out at home tomorrow. If you need anything just call me."

With that she slowly climbed the stairs and left Dez's house.

Austin glanced nervously at Dez, who was back to fiddling with his video equipment.

"Dez," he spoke quietly. "I'm so sorry for leaving you hanging...for everything. The tour was a lot harder than I expected it to be. I know that I shouldn't be making excuses or anything..."

Dez looked over and seemed to soften a little. "Look Austin, you don't need to make excuses to me. What you did was rude and immature, but not unforgivable."

He held up a hand to keep Austin from speaking again. "I'm still mad and you have to make things right with Ally, or at least make a good start at that, before I'll be ready to forgive you. You have to make an effort, man."

"I really messed up with her, with you, too."

"Austin," Dez said quietly. "I've been your friend for a long time, and I'll probably be your friend for many more years. I am angry with you right now, but we'll get past it. We always do. We just have to give it some time."

Austin nodded as he stood up and ran his hands through his hair again. "Thanks for taking care of her when I turned into an ass, man."

Dez smiled and shook his head. "I did the right thing, you don't need to thank me for that. I was a friend to her when she needed one."

Austin looked at his friend. "Well, thanks anyway. It means a lot to know that you were there when I wasn't."

Dez nodded again.

Austin headed back to his hotel and settled in for the night. He needed to sleep if he was going to get through the morning.

When Austin checked his phone, he saw a text from his mother letting him know that breakfast was at 8 sharp in the morning.

He set an alarm and stripped down to his boxers. He wondered if he would get any sleep tonight as he shut off the lamp.

…...

Ally woke up and looked at the clock. She groaned as she realized it was 3am. She rolled over and out of bed. She crossed to the crib. Ally reached down and picked up her crying son. "Hey little man," she crooned softly. "Are you hungry?"

"Let's get you changed and then you can have a snack, all right?"

She set Tyler down on the changing table and swiftly changed his diaper before settling down in the rocking chair. She got the baby all situated and when he was latched on and nursing, she rubbed the top of his head gently.

"Well little man," she said softly. "Your daddy finally found out about you. You get to meet him tomorrow. I don't know what's going to happen now, but whatever it is I promise that I will always, always, do the right thing for you."

She hugged her son tighter, trying not to disturb him as he ate.

…...

3:15am

Austin groaned as he rolled over after looking at the clock. Why was he still up? He rolled his eyes at himself.

"I'm such an ass," he said softly.

He rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes. Tomorrow was not going to be fun, well to be honest he knew coming home wasn't going to be easy.

He was well aware of how he had treated his friends and he wasn't sure how he was going to fix everything. And that was before he even found out about the baby. Oh. My. God. He had a baby. He didn't even know how old he was.

He got up and wandered into the bathroom. He took a good long look at himself in the mirror. "Okay, jackass. What are you going to do now?"

…...

Ally smiled down at her now sleeping son. "Baby boy, it's time to go back to bed."

As she took him back to his crib she kissed him gently on his forehead. "I love you."

She tucked her son in and then returned to her own bed. She drifted off to sleep with thoughts of her beautiful child running through her mind.

…...

Austin returned to the bed and pulled the covers around himself. His mind was still going a mile a minute so he popped his ear-buds in and flipped on his iPod. He fell asleep with music filling his head.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Again, I don not own Austin & Ally. Thank you for the reviews.**

Chapter 4

Austin slapped a hand down to silence the shrill alarm. He groaned deeply and shoved the covers back. He pushed himself up and dragged himself to the bathroom where he started the shower.

He looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head at himself. His blonde hair was sticking up and he needed a shave. His hazel eyes seemed to be mocking him. "Yep. Still a jackass. Better get ready and get home," he told himself softly.

He stripped and stepped under the warm spray of the shower.

…...

Ally woke once again to her child's cries. She pushed her heavy brown hair out of her eyes and sat up. "Hey buddy," she said softly as she climbed out of bed and reached for Tyler. "Good morning."

She changed the boy and then settled back in her chair to nurse him. "Today's kind of a big day for us, buddy. You get to meet your dad. I'm not going to lie to you, Mommy might get really, really angry with him. I will try to find some resolution that works for us, though."

She leaned her head back against the chair and just enjoyed the quiet before the storm.

…...

Austin pulled up in front of the house he had grown up in. He was early and he knew it, but something was pulling him faster and faster toward this moment. He took a deep breath as he shut the door of his rental. He went to the front door and debated with himself, should he knock or just use his key?

He finally gave in and tried the door, it was unlocked so he let himself in. He passed through the living room stopping to notice the swing in the corner that he hadn't noticed last night on his way through the house.

He heard someone shuffling around in the kitchen so he headed that way and stopped in the doorway.

"Hey Mom," he said to the woman rustling around in the refrigerator.

"I'm not your mom, Austin," Ally answered as she extricated herself from the appliance.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to be up this early." He was frozen in place and it seemed she was, too because she still hadn't turned to face him yet.

She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly as she finally turned to face him. "We are usually the first ones up."

His forehead crinkled in confusion. "We," he questioned.

She shook her head and laughed softly. "Did you forget about the baby already? Or were you just hoping that last night was a bad dream?"

She turned away from him again as she began to prepare breakfast for her son. Nothing like a little rice cereal mixed with breast milk in the morning.

Austin put a hand to his head. "Of course, I didn't forget. I just...I'm not used to this yet."

He turned his head to take in the rest of the room and saw his son buckled into a bouncing chair in the middle of the kitchen table. "Where are my parents?"

Ally smiled as she made her way to the table with the small bowl of cereal. "They decided to give us some time to talk alone this morning. They went to pick up something special for breakfast, but they should be back in about half an hour."

"Please come sit down, Austin. I need to feed Tyler and I really don't want to talk to someone behind me when I do it."

Austin crossed the room and sank down in a chair opposite Ally. "I went to Dez's last night and saw the video he made. I'm so, so sorry that I left you here alone to deal with this." He waved his hand absently in front of him.

Ally continued to feed her son his cereal as she waited for Austin to continue. When he didn't she turned her gaze briefly to him. "Is that it? You're sorry. And what , Austin? I'm just supposed to forgive you and everything just goes back to the way it was? I don't think so."

Austin scrubbed his hands over his face. "Is there any coffee," he asked.

She nodded her head toward the coffeemaker on the counter and watched as he wearily rose and poured himself a cup. He inhaled deeply over the cup and then came and sat back down at the table.

"I'm trying very hard to catch up on what's been going on here since I left," he began. He held up a hand to stop her from speaking. "I know I made mistakes and I really have no excuse. Really. None. I told you I wouldn't change and that I would be there for you, but those were the first things that I did."

"I know that there is very little I can say today to make what I did go away. But I can say I'm sorry. And I can ask what I can do now to make this better. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness yet." His hazel eyes flicked up to lock onto her chocolate ones. "But I'm willing to do everything in my power to work toward a day when you can begin to forgive me."

She just stared at him. This was the last thing that she had expected. She was prepared for him to be angry so she could be angry, too. She was prepared for him to be bitter so she could be bitter, too. But this, this sad reticence was not what she expected.

The baby began to cry jolting both of them out of the moment. "Sorry little man," she smiled at Tyler. "I forgot you were still wanting breakfast." She began spooning cereal gently into his mouth. It was a task that she needed to pay attention to as he was still learning how to do this and more cereal got on his face than in his mouth.

"Tell me about our son, Ally."

Ally smiled as she continued to feed him. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," Austin answered.

"Well," Ally began, "he was born on February 22nd. It was not an easy birth. I'll spare you the details for now, but we kind of beat the crap out of each other. The doctor said that if he'd realized how big Tyler was he would have done a c-section before things had progressed beyond where that was safe for us."

She took a deep breath and continued. "After we came home from the hospital he was jaundiced and he had to sleep under these special lights for a few days. Now, he's a healthy and happy three month old baby."

Austin smiles at her over his coffee, happy that she is staring to let him in.

"He likes to eat, he's always been a good eater. He loves your parents and just lights up when one of them plays with him. He really likes Dez as well, although I watch Dez like a hawk when he holds Tyler. He loves music, but he especially loves your music. Sometimes it's the only way I can get him to go to sleep, playing one of your songs."

"Really," Austin asks looking at his son. He sees so much in that little boy.

Ally finished feeding Tyler his cereal and went to get a damp cloth to wipe his face. She turned to face her son and his father and her heart began to heal a little bit. When she returned to the table, she gently cleaned Tyler's face and unbuckled him from the bouncy seat. "Would you like to hold him?"

Austin's eyes grew wide and he shook his head slightly as she approached him. "I don't think that's a good idea. I wouldn't know how to do that."

Ally smiled at Austin then back down at her son. "Well, you need to learn sometime, may as well start now." She placed her son gently in Austin's arms.

"He's beautiful, Ally," Austin breathed. He couldn't believe how adorable this baby was, with his pudgy cheeks and his big blue eyes. Wait a minute, big _blue _eyes. What was up with that? Austin cleared his throat. "Hey, Ally, why does he have blue eyes?"

She lifted her head and her chocolate brown eyes met Austin's hazel ones. She tilted her head to the right and looked confused for a moment. Austin watched her entire demeanor change in a heartbeat. One moment she was happily watching him snuggle their son and the next she was spitting mad. Spitting. Mad.

"What did you just ask me?" Ally was definitely angry with him.

Austin swallowed and looked down at Tyler for a moment as the child began to whimper softly. "Um... I was just wondering why he had blue eyes. You know, because I don't have blue eyes and neither do my parents and um... you don't have blue eyes. So..."

"So maybe," Ally began as she began to pace angrily through the kitchen, "he's not yours. Right? Wouldn't that make everything better! How can you even ask that of me? We were together for several months before you left to go on tour and dropped off the face of the earth."

Ally stopped pacing and swung around to face Austin who was holding onto her son like he was a life preserver.

"No, Austin," she cried, "he is definitely yours, since you are the only person I've ever slept with. Almost all baby's are born with blue eyes. Give him to me."

"I don't think that's a very good idea, Ally." Austin clutched his son tighter, but Tyler was having none of it. Tyler began to cry loudly.

Ally's voice got dangerously quiet. "Give. Me. My. Son." She advanced on Austin again and reached out for her son.

Austin stood up and held the child away from her, all the while the baby's cries grew louder and louder.

Just then the door leading to the garage opened up and Mike and Mimi Moon walked in. They took in the scene before them: their grandchild screaming, Ally looking like she was going to rip Austin apart and Austin holding the child up out of her reach.

Mimi sighed and looked at Mike. "Give the baby to his mother Austin, before she hurts you," Mimi said tiredly.

"But... but Mom," Austin stuttered. "Ally's really angry."

"And she's going to be more angry if you let that child cry like that and don't give him to her." Mimi shook her head at her son. "You really shouldn't try to keep a crying child away from his mother."

"Austin, give him to me," Ally shouted, reaching for her son again.

Austin reluctantly handed the crying child to his mother who immediately began to bounce the child gently. "Shh, shh," she whispered to Tyler. "It's okay Tyler, Mommy's here now."

The baby refused to be comforted however and continued to cry at the top of his lungs. All this crying was freaking Austin out. "Is he alright," he asked softly.

"He's probably hungry," Mimi answered him as she began to sort out the breakfast the she and Mike had carried in.

Austin brow furrowed as he looked from his mom to Ally who was now patting Tyler's bottom rhythmically. "But Ally just fed him something."

Mimi shook her head at her son. "Yes, she probably fed him cereal, but now he needs to nurse and go down for his morning nap." Her son sure had a lot to learn about this baby stuff.

Ally finally decide that the bouncing and patting were not working and she sat down in the chair that Austin had vacated. She began unbuttoning her blouse one handed, while adjusting Tyler with the other.

"Ally!" Austin exclaimed moving to stand directly in front of her effectively blocking her from his parents. "What are you doing?"

"Feeding the baby," she answered as she adjusted her nursing bra and moved hers son's head to her breast in a move that looked well orchestrated. "He's not settling down, so he needs more to eat."

"That's one of the best things about nursing, Austin," Ally said as she looked up at him. "He can eat anywhere, and often does."

Austin watched in astonishment as his son nursed. He found it strangely arousing.

"Austin," Mimi said. "Come over here and get something to eat."

"Yes, Austin, go eat something. You need to keep up your strength. We haven't even gotten started talking about this, yet." Ally looked up at Austin again. "I just need to finish feeding him and put him to bed, then maybe I can get the answers I deserve."

Austin swallowed hard and looked away from Ally's hard gaze. He knew that things were going to get a lot more difficult. It was almost enough to put him off breakfast, but then he took a deep breath and smelled the pancakes. He turned away from Ally and his son to join his mother and fill a plate.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They were finishing up breakfast. Austin had watched in amazement as Ally had fed their son and eaten her own breakfast simultaneously. That was crazy.

He knew she was still mad at him, since she kept glaring at him between bites. She finished feeding the baby and fastened her blouse before lifting him onto her shoulder and patting him on the back firmly.

"Doesn't that hurt him," Austin queried.

Ally rolled her eyes at him as her son let out a loud belch. "No Austin," she answered. "He just needed a little help to get the gas out."

Austin shook his head as he realized that this whole coming home thing was more difficult than he had realized.

"I'm going to put him down for his nap," Ally said as she started out of the kitchen.

Mimi stopped her, "Ally why don't you let me put him down and you and Austin can go in the living room to talk."

Ally stopped and pulled her son close to her chest for a moment. She didn't really want to but she realized that this discussion had to happen at some point. May as well start now. "Thanks, Mimi. I'd appreciate that."

She passed the drowsy baby to Mimi and walked to the living room waiting for Austin to follow her.

Mike stepped in front of his son for a moment. "You really hurt her and you really disappointed us. You need to figure out how to make up for that."

Austin let his head fall forward guiltily. He raised his gaze to his father's after a moment. "I'm trying Dad. I just wish I knew how to do that."

Austin moved around his dad and followed Ally to the living room.

He stood in the doorway and watched as Ally paced around the room. She slowly came to halt when she realized he was staring at her. She found a seat on the couch and watched through heavily lidded eyes as Austin came to join her.

They didn't sit like they used to, where you could hardly see where one of them ended and the other began, but on opposite ends of the couch.

"Austin," Ally spoke softly. "I would really like to know why."

"Why, what," he asked although he had a pretty good idea what.

She looked down at her hands. "Why did you leave and never call me? Why did you tell Trish to help you and have her tell me to stop calling you? Why couldn't you just tell me yourself that it was over? And that you didn't love me anymore? Why?"

Austin drew a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "I don't know, but you have to know, you _have to_ _know_ that I never stopped loving you. I still love you."

Ally's eyes began to fill with tears that she was trying valiantly to hold back as she shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak but the words which usually came easy to her didn't and she shut her mouth again. She leaned her head back and blinked rapidly in a vain attempt to keep the tears from falling.

"Ally, please..." Austin began, but stopped when she held up her hand. She shook her head angrily at him and he spoke again. "Okay, so you don't want to talk about that. You wanted a reason for what I did. I'm sorry, but I don't have one. At least not a good one."

"That tour was unlike anything I had ever experienced and it took everything I had every day just to keep up. It was exhausting both emotionally and physically. I ended up taking what we had, what we were for granted and for that there is no excuse. I stupidly thought that you would always be here, waiting for me and that I didn't need to call. I knew you were crying when you left some of the messages you did, and I just couldn't deal with you and your emotions, which I realize sounds really bad."

"Really bad? I can't believe you. You really thought that I would still be here waiting for you even if you put absolutely no effort into our relationship? You knew I was crying, but didn't give a crap enough to call me back?"

Austin looked down at his hands before daring to look over at Ally. His eyes were wet as he scratched the back of his neck. "I made mistakes..."

"Mistakes," she screeched. "Mistakes? That's what we're going to call it?"

"Yes, Ally. I made several mistakes and I just want to know what you want me to do to make this right. I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"What I want you to do?" She was astonished. "What I wanted was for my boyfriend to be there for me. My best friend to continue being my best friend."

"What do you want me to do _now_, Ally," Austin asked softly. "What can I do _today_ to make this right? Because I can't go back and change what I did, I would if I could you know. I would go back and answer every call and make some of my own. I wouldn't have just left you."

"You say that now, you said that before. I'm having a very difficult time believing you. As for what you can do now, that's kind of up to you. How involved do you want to be? Are you going to take responsibility for your son and start paying child support?"

"Why don't we just get married and go from there," Austin asked softly.

Ally looked at him sharply and laughed quietly for a moment. "Marry you? Now?"

Austin looked away from her. "Well, I guess that's not an option then," he said sourly.

"Are you kidding me? You have got to be kidding me. You go away for an entire year, and then when you show up and find out you have a child with the girl you left behind, you decide the best course of action is to ask her to marry you?"

"I wasn't kidding you, but I guess the answer is no."

She shook her head. "Of course the answer is no. I can't marry someone I don't trust."

Austin snapped his gaze back to hers. "So you don't trust me?"

She sighed and turned her head away. "No, Austin," she began, "I don't trust you. Why should I?"

He ignored that question for now. "Ally, that option is available for as long as you want it to be. I'm willing to put everything I can into winning back your trust."

Ally took several deep breaths to calm herself before speaking again. "Look, Austin. I just want to do the right thing for Tyler. I would like for you to be a part of his life. In order for that to happen, I'm going to have to forgive you."

His eyes shot up to lock with hers again and he opened his mouth to speak. She held up a hand to stop him.

"I am working on forgiving you. It's not going to happen over night. And my forgiveness and trust are things you are going to have to earn back."

He nodded his head vigorously at her. "I'm going to be here in Miami for a while taking a break before getting to work on my next album. I would really like a chance to earn both of those from you. And I would really like to be a part of my son's life. I'll help you with whatever you need."

Ally nodded at Austin. "Let me just figure out what that is," she said softly.

Austin smiled at Ally for the first time today.

They both jumped when someone started pounding on the front door.

Mimi rushed by the entrance to the living room to answer the door. Both Austin and Ally stood up and faced the entrance as they heard very angry voices raised. "I said you are not welcome here," Mimi almost shouted.

An angry voice, that both Austin and Ally recognized as Trish, responded, "I want to talk to Ally!"

Ally frowned at Austin. "Well the first thing I need is for you to get rid of her." With that, Ally fled up the stairs.

Austin grimaced at her retreating back and then resigned himself to going to the front door.

"Hey Trish, what's up?"

"Austin, tell your mom to let me in. I really want to talk to Ally."

Austin stepped up behind his mom with his hand on the front door. Mimi spun away from the door and Austin stepped forward to take her place, effectively blocking Trish from entering the house. "I can't let you in right now Trish. Ally asked me to make you leave."

"Austin, I just want to know what's going on," Trish said sadly. "Let me see her, I want to work things out with her."

"Honestly, I don't think that is a good idea right now. Ally and I are just starting to get somewhere and I am not going to jeopardize anything with her for you again, Trish." Austin continued to block Trish from entering the house.

She turned her angry gaze up to him. "Austin, what do you mean _again_?"

"You know exactly what I mean. You told me to not worry about her, just to focus on myself. Look where that got us. Angry best friends for both of us and me with a child I didn't even know about. I have to focus on this right now. I need to make this right with Ally. I'll try to help you, but today I just can't."

Trish looked away from Austin as she tried to process what was going on. "Austin, I'm sorry if you feel like I did the wrong thing..."

"That's just it," he interjected. "We both did the wrong thing and it's going to take some time to fix it, if we even can fix it. Just let her deal with me for now, you're just going to have to wait."

Trish nodded dolefully. "If you're sure..," she began. When Austin nodded back to her she said, "alright, I'll go. I'm going to keep trying though."

"I know you are," Austin responded before shutting the door quietly.

He scrubbed his hands over his face and blew out the breath he'd been holding. He looked up the stairs toward his childhood room and wondered if he dared follow Ally.

Apparently he did dare, as he began to climb the stairs quickly. He stopped when he came to his bedroom door and focused on the woman standing over the crib.

"Ally," he called softly. "She's gone."

"Thanks," Ally also spoke quietly. She turned to face Austin. "I just can't deal with her today, too."

"Why does it seem like you're more angry with her than you are with me?"

Ally laughed softly as she crossed the room to stand next to Austin. She raised her eyes to his. "Maybe because I am. Maybe because I was friends with her longer than I was with you. Maybe because her betrayal hurt more, no. Not more. Maybe it was just a different kind of betrayal."

"Plus," she whispered, "I have a really good reason to make things right with you." She dropped her gaze from Austin's and looked across the room at the crib. "Tyler is the only reason I am trying to work this out with you."

"The only reason," he whispered as he reached out and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

She turned her head into his hand as he let his fingertips drift down her cheek briefly before moving his hand away from her. She turned her head again to face him. "No. Not the only reason."

"Do I get to know the other reasons?"

She smiled softly and shook her head. "No. Not today."

"Ally," Mimi called up the stairs. "Your phone just rang. It was work."

"Be right down, Mimi," Ally answered moving around Austin and starting for the stairs.

…...

Austin had followed her down the stairs and tried not to eavesdrop on her conversation with her work. Ally looked frustrated and kept shaking her head before hanging up the phone.

"I need to go in for a minute, my client is getting upset with their new song and I have to go help." she said to Mimi.

"Okay, Ally, I can stay here with the bay for a couple of hours before I have to go in to work." Mike had already left for the mattress store.

"I can't ask you to do that today, Mimi," Ally smiled.

"Wait, can't I just stay here," Austin interjected.

Both women turned slowly to face him with equally amused looks on their faces. Ally laughed, "do you even know how to change a diaper Austin?"

He hadn't thought of that but then an idea popped into his head. He asked, "does Dez? He could come over and help me."

Ally continued to laugh as his mother looked at him thoughtfully. "You know, Ally, that just might work."

Ally stopped laughing and she looked as if she had swallowed something strange. "Mimi," she began.

"Dez can help him. The baby won't need to be fed for a couple of hours and you should be back by then. It should work fine."

Fine," Ally said. "I'll call Dez, Austin. And I should be back by noon or half past at the latest. Don't drop the baby and make sure you support his head when you carry him around."

She picked up her phone as she began scurrying around the kitchen preparing to leave. "Dez," she said. " Can you do me a huge favor. I have to go into work and Austin has offered to stay here with Tyler. Could you come babysit them?"

She listened and smiled. "Thanks, Dez. I'll tell him you're on your way."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally.**

Chapter 6

After his mom and Ally had both left, Austin went to the living room to make some calls while he waited for Dez.

"Trish," he said into the phone. "I need to talk about the move to California. It can't happen right now..."

"Austin, we have discussed this...This is the best thing for you to do right now," she answered.

"No, Trish, I am not going to budge on this. You need to talk to whoever you need to talk to at the record label and tell them that Austin Moon is going to be based out of Miami from now on. I'm also going to need you to find out what I need to do about paying child support, how much and how often and really just everything about it."

He paced around the room as he listened to Trish curse in Spanish. "Then I need to work on finding a house here, as soon as possible. An apartment near the studio just isn't going to work. I need at least three bedrooms and a room that can be converted to studio space. Something with a yard. Maybe out here near my parents."

He stopped pacing in front of the 'family wall,' the wall covered with photos of his family. He stopped listening to Trish as he focused on several pictures he hadn't seen before. But Trish yelled through the phone and pulled his attention back to her.

"I need to talk to Ally," she insisted.

"No, Trish, she's not ready to talk to you yet. We both hurt her really badly, and you being the one to tell her to stop calling me didn't help. Look, she's angry and feeling betrayed, understandably."

He stopped talking to listen again, but his attention kept going back to the pictures on the wall.

"Trish, Dez is on his way over here to help me with the baby while Ally is out. I need you to do what I asked you to do, about staying here, the child support information and getting a house. I'll talk to you later."

He barely heard her response before hanging up the phone. He took a step closer to the wall of photos. There used to be a section of pictures here that included shots of him with Dez, Trish and Ally. They had all been replaced with pictures of his son and Ally.

There was a picture of Ally in the hospital looking exhausted but exhilarated too. She was snuggling a tiny bundle to her chest and looking down at him as if he was the only thing in the world that existed for her at that moment.

The next picture was one of her nursing Tyler in the rocking chair he had seen in his old room. Again the look on Ally's face was amazing. His breath caught as he remembered that she would sometimes look at him that way, as if nothing existed outside of the two of them.

He rubbed his hand over his heart and shook his head sadly. He had so much to make up for. So many moments lost.

When Dez entered the room he saw Austin looking at the pictures hanging on the wall and tracing his fingers lightly over them. "Hey, I thought I was supposed to baby sit both you and the baby," he said startling Austin.

"Dez, man, don't you knock," Austin asked as he tried to catch his breath. "And Tyler is still sleeping, I think. I mean my mom put him down for a nap about half an hour ago and I don't know how long a baby naps for."

Dez smiled gleefully. "We should go check on him then," he said as he started up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Austin looked after him for a moment before hurrying up the stairs himself getting to his door way just as Dez was pulling the sleeping baby out of his crib. "Dez," he hissed. "Put him back!"

Dez shook his head as he started running around the room carefully holding the baby out of Austin's reach. "No, no, no," he practically sang. "If I have to help you watch the baby, then he has to help you watch me."

Austin stopped chasing Dez and looked at him, perplexed. Then he started laughing. "It's good to know you haven't changed, man."

Dez started laughing as well as he looked at his old friend. Just then Tyler woke up. He was not happy about the two men who were supposed to be watching him cutting his nap short and he made his displeasure known.

…...

Tyler was still crying an hour later. Both men had tried to calm him down, but nothing was working. Dez had changed his diaper. Austin had tried to feed him again. They tried putting him back into his crib, but they only lasted a few minutes as neither on of them could listen to the child cry.

"Dude, what are we going to do," Austin asked as he stripped off his hooded sweatshirt. It seemed like the house kept getting hotter. "Ally is going to be pissed if she gets home and finds him like this. And I will tell her who woke him up. Don't think I won't."

Dez was pacing back and forth in the living room, patting Tyler softly on the bottom. "Dude," he answered looking at Austin. "That's harsh."

"Let's try the bottle again, Dez. Give him to me." Austin reached out for the baby. He tucked the small, angry child into his elbow remembering what Ally had told him about Tyler's head. Then he remembered something else she had said.

"Dez," he exclaimed. "Doesn't Ally play my music for him if he can't sleep?"

Dez nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Sometimes that's the only thing that _will_ put him to sleep."

Suddenly Dez stood straighter and looked at Austin. "Do you have your CD. We could play it for him," Dez said excitedly.

Austin looked at Dez in exasperation. "Dez, can't I just sing to him?"

Dez collapsed onto the couch and nodded. "Yeah, I guess that could work, too."

Austin began to sing softly to the screaming bundle in his arms "When you're on your own, drowning alone and you need a rope that can pull you in, someone will throw it..."

As he continued the song, Tyler's screams subsided to whimpers. When he finished that song he started the next one, "Last summer we met, we started as friends..." Tyler's whimpers slowly faded away as Austin sat gingerly in the recliner and began to rock slowly. He wiped the tears from his son's face as he settled back into the chair and finished the song. "I think about you."

…...

Ally let herself into the house and was immediately on guard. It was _really_ quiet, too quiet. She knew Austin and Dez were both here, because their cars were out front, but that fact didn't keep her from worrying. She set her bag down on the kitchen table and hurried out of the room on her way upstairs.

She glanced into the living room on her way through the house and stopped short. Dez was curled up in a ball on the couch, snoring. And Austin was sitting in the recliner holding Tyler in his arms, just looking down at his son. Ally's breath caught in her throat.

She would be lying to herself if she hadn't hoped for that look to be on Austin's face when he looked at the child they had made together. He seemed so, so awestruck that it tugged her heart back from the brink a little bit. She almost didn't want to disturb the two of them.

Austin felt her looking at him and raised his head to glance at her. Their eyes locked and, for a moment, one breathtaking moment, there was nothing but the two of them, just Austin and Ally. The moment seemed to envelop them and time began to turn back on itself.

But the baby in his arms began to whimper softly and drew Austin's gaze down. He looked into his son's face and smiled at the child who was staring solemnly back at him. "Hey little man," he whispered.

Ally's breath caught again, was she ever going to breath properly around Austin again? "How was he?"

Austin smirked at her. "Well, when Dez got here, he totally went upstairs and woke Tyler. Then Tyler cried for a really long time and neither of us could get him to settle down."

Ally frowned at him, "I thought I told you to watch Dez."

"No," Austin drawled. "You told me to not drop the baby and support his head, not to watch Dez. Thankfully, I remembered something else you said."

"Which was what?" She began to move into the room toward Austin. He reached out a hand to her and she placed her hand hesitantly in his. As his hand closed over hers he spun her toward him and she almost gracefully ended up between his legs with his arm around her back. He tugged on her hand and she ended up on his lap.

Her face began to cloud over when he leaned forward and whispered into her ear making her shiver. "I remembered that you play my music for him when he has trouble going to sleep. So I sang to him."

"You remembered that? You sang to him?" She had almost forgotten that she was sitting somewhere she hadn't for a really long time. She looked down at her son, who was just looking up at them. She smiled, "I can't get over how much he looks like you."

Austin also looked down at their son and smiled. "He is handsome, isn't he?"

Ally laughed and shook her head. She turned to look at Austin and his gaze locked with hers again. This moment was broken by a flash. Ally turned her head toward Dez who had apparently just taken a picture of them.

Ally frowned as she extricated herself from Austin, reaching for her son and turning to Dez. "Something you want to say Dezmond?"

Dez shrank back into the couch and cut his gaze to Austin. "Dude," he whined. "Did you have to tell her?"

Austin laughed at his friend. "Yeah, I did."

…...

Dez left because Ally was still shooting dirty looks at him. He didn't say she was staring to scare him, but everyone knew that that was why he left.

Ally spread a blanket out on the floor and set Tyler down with a couple of toys. She walked over to the couch ignoring the hand Austin had extended toward her again. She smiled down a her son as she sat.

"I'm glad you were able to get him to settle down, he was probably not very happy when Dez woke him up."

Austin rolled his eyes and answered, "_I_ wasn't very happy when Dez woke Tyler, but he was _really _not happy. He definitely has a set of lungs on him. I thought the neighbors were going to call Child Protective Services on us at one point."

Ally laughed. "Yeah. He is loud sometimes. The neighbors should be used to it by now."

They sat in the living room in silence for a short time just watching Tyler play on the floor. Ally couldn't seem to atop thinking about how confidently Austin had pulled her down onto his lap and what that had felt like. She was trying really hard to keep her hands from trembling She had missed him so much.

When he had left her, and abandoned her, she didn't cope with it very well. If she was honest with herself though, her shattered heart was starting to knit back together...

Austin was watching Ally carefully, she seemed so tense. He couldn't help but think back to how he had pulled her down to his lap. They still fit together. He had missed how well they fit together. He was going to make sure they stayed together for a long time. He just had to figure out how to do that...


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate them.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Austin and Ally, I'm just taking them out to play.**

Chapter 7

Austin's phone began to ring and it pulled his thoughts away from Ally. He pulled it out of his pocket and frowned at it, then he set it down gingerly and waited for it to go to voice-mail. Ally quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Is that Trish?" she asked.

"Yeah, I can talk to her later," Austin answered. "Can I ask you something?"

She laughed at him. "You just did."

He scratched the back of his neck before raising his gaze to her. "I know, but why are you really so angry at Trish?"

Ally looked away as she stopped laughing. "I guess, I see what she did as a betrayal. I mean, more of a betrayal than what you did. She was enabling you to hurt me and she just rubbed salt in the wound instead of standing up for me and taking my side. She just stood with you. That hurt."

"I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I never asked her to do that to you. I never asked her to call you and tell you not to call me anymore. But I never asked her not to either. I listened to your message and she listened to your message, then she just took my phone and walked out of the room saying she would fix it."

Ally's face became paler and paler. She turned to speak to him, but Austin stopped her by raising his hand. "I know that I have a lot to make up for and I know it's going to take some time. But Trish, she was just being a good manager."

"A good manager!" Ally spat bitterly. "She was supposed to be my best friend before she was your manager. She promised when she left. Kind of like how you promised to be a good boyfriend before you left. Looks like you both forgot about those promises though."

Austin cleared his throat as he looked away. It was amazing to him how they could go from talking and laughing together one minute to fighting the next.

"Look, Ally," he began. "I know what I did to you was horrible. I know I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. But I think you should give Trish a chance to apologize, at least. I want to be a part of your life. I want to be a part of my son's life. And I work with Trish. It would be helpful if you two could be in the same room every once in a while."

Ally took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "I know, Austin. If I want to make this, whatever it is, work with you I am going to have to deal with Trish. Is it too much to ask that I just wait a couple of more days before I do that? Can I have just a little more time to deal with just you?"

Austin studied her face closely. He looked down at his phone as it began to ring again. "Sure, Ally, whatever you need. But I'm going to have to start answering her calls sometime. Sometime before she decides to come looking for me."

Ally started to laugh again. "Answer your phone, Austin. We can pick this back up tomorrow."

"You kicking me out?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. I just figured that you had better things to do than hang out with me and Tyler all day."

He smiled at her and almost took her breath away again. "This is the best thing that I can think of. Let me go in the other room and call her back."

Ally just smiled at him and nodded.

...

"Hey Trish," he spoke into his phone as he paced in the kitchen. "Did you do all the stuff I asked you to?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I talked to the guys at the label and Miami will be fine with them, apparently they don't really care where you are based from. You will just be expected to travel from time to time, however."

"Awesome," he said, letting out the breath he didn't realize he was holding in.

"Yeah, I'm awesome, I know," Trish said deprecatingly. "I spoke to a real estate agent and she can meet with you tomorrow morning at 10 to show you some properties. I gave her your phone number so she can text you in the morning about where to meet."

Austin nodded to himself. "Okay, I'll be on the lookout for a message from her. Just text me her details so I don't ignore her."

"Oh, like you've been ignoring me," Trish asked.

Austin rolled his eyes at his manager. "I was talking to Ally, about you actually, so yeah I ignored one call."

"Two calls and you were talking to her about me!" she squealed. "What did you say? What did she say? Can I come over and talk to her?"

Austin was amazed at how long she could talk without taking a breath. "Trish," he said. "Calm down. She wants a couple more days to deal with just me. It's Friday now, you could probably call her on Monday. I'll keep you posted."

"Okay, okay," she responded taking a deep breath and blowing it out. "I'll try to calm down, but this weekend will be completely boring without hanging out with her."

"I know," Austin answered. "Now, about my other issue..."

"I haven't really gotten an answer for you on the child support thing. I have a call in to one of the record label's attorneys about it. I am just waiting to hear back from him. Are you sure you want to move forward with that?"

"Of course I am, Trish." Austin rolled his eyes again. "I need to start doing the right thing for Ally and Tyler."

"Even if that means this situation could become known _publicly_?"

"Yes, even then. She deserves to have me be part of this, in any way she wants me to be. Don't you think so?"

"Okay," she acquiesced. "I just wanted to make sure that you were sure about it."

"I'm sure. I'm sure that she deserved better than how we,_ I_, treated her. I'm sure that she was alone when she didn't have to be. I'm sure that I am going to be making things up to her for a long time. I'm sure that this is the right thing to do. Just let me know when you have some information about it."

"Okay, I understand," Trish answered quietly. "I am just trying to do my job and be a good manager."

"That's how we got into this mess in the first place. I think it's time that we focused a little less on our careers and focused a little more on our friendships. I'll let you know when Ally is ready to talk to you and you get back to me when you can about the legal stuff. I'll talk to you later."

He heard Trish agree and then hung up.

"What legal stuff?" Ally asked from behind him.

He jumped. Austin turned slowly to face Ally who was standing in the doorway with Tyler. "Hey. How much did you hear?"

Ally shrugged, "I heard enough. I heard you tell her off and I heard you mention legal stuff."

Austin crossed to her and said "I just asked her to look into the child support stuff, because I'm not sure where to start. I want to be involved and I want to help you like I should have been helping you all along."

Ally nodded as she looked up at Austin. "Okay, that's understandable. What did you tell her about her and I?"

"I told her that you needed some more time. I told her she could probably call you early next week, but that I would let her know for sure."

Ally nodded again. Her mind was whirling with so much information she thought it might spin right out of her head. If only her hands weren't occupied with Tyler, she might start chewing her hair.

"Well," she said smiling at Austin again. "This little man is probably ready for his lunch now. Could you hold him for me while I get it ready for him?"

"Certainly," Austin smiled at her as her reached for Tyler. "Anything you need."

That was not the first time she had heard that from him and, she suspected, it would probably not be the last. Could it really be this easy, could she really trust him again? Or should she just wait for him to disappear again? Only time would tell...

She began to prepare her son's lunch, watching Austin hold him. She began to hope, a little bit, that life could get back on track now.

Austin snuggled his son and watched Ally move around the kitchen. He began to hope, a little bit, that things could settle down now and they could find their new normal.

"Hey, Ally?" he spoke, breaking the silence in the room. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Ally looked up surprised. "Tomorrow? What's tomorrow, Saturday? Nothing during the day, I think. Why?"

"Do you want to go look at some houses with me? I need to find a place to live that isn't a hotel. I'm kind of done with hotels."

She smiled at him and said, "Sure, I'd love to help you find a house."

He smiled back at her as he began to fasten Tyler into his bouncy seat on the table. "Great, I'll pick you two up around 9:30 if that's alright. We can go to lunch, too," he said. "Do you have plans tomorrow night?"

"Your parents usually watch Tyler for me on Saturday night so I can get out of the house for a while. I usually go to the movies, but I don't have anything planned for tomorrow."

She finished preparing Tyler's lunch and brought it over to the table. She began to gently feed her son.

"Would you join me for dinner?" he asked with bated breath.

She looked up sharply and the spoon hovered over Tyler's mouth. "Like a date?"

Austin shook his head. "No, no. Just two people eating dinner together and maybe starting to be friends again."

Ally considered his proposition carefully as she resumed feeding Tyler. Dinner. As friends. "Yes, I would love to have dinner with you tomorrow."

He smiled at her, a smile she hadn't seen for a while, one that had been reserved just for her. She was glad to see it again.

...

As she sat down to nurse her son before bed, Ally thought back over the roller coaster of a day. Talking to Austin. Fighting with Austin. Leaving her son alone with his father and Dez. Talking with Austin, fighting with him again and once again just talking to him.

Will I ever be able to forgive Austin and move forward into a new relationship with him? What would that relationship be like? Maybe tomorrow would give her some insight into that.

She could hear him downstairs talking to his parents, not the actual words, of course, but just their voices. She was astonished that he had stayed all day. He had participated in his son's life for the first time and he was amazingly good at it.

Austin had stayed, through another nap time, through dinner with his parents. He even held Tyler and let his own food grow cold just so Ally could eat a hot meal. She looked down at her son who was falling asleep as he nursed.

"This was a good day, little man," she said softly. "I hope we start to have more of them."

'I hope you do, too," Austin said from the doorway.

"Sorry," he laughed as he watched her almost jump out of her skin. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to see if my singing services were needed."

Ally finally found her voice. "He's mostly asleep already. As soon as he finishes eating, I'll burp him and put him to bed. So I don't think we'll be needing your singing services tonight, but thanks."

Austin smiled at her, "I'm going to head out then. I'll see you in the morning."

"Definitely," Ally said. "We will see you in the morning."

He pushed himself off the door frame, turned and walked away. She almost called him back, not wanting him to go so soon.

He almost turned around, not ready to leave them just then.

But they both realized that tomorrow was another day, and they really needed some time to think.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally, just taking the characters out to play.**

Chapter 8

The next morning dawned clear and beautiful. Ally woke up ready for whatever the day would bring. After nursing Tyler, she passed him off to Mimi so she could get ready to go out with Austin. As she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

She turned one way and then the other, looking herself over carefully. Ally thought she still looked pretty good. Of course the baby had changed her body, but she thought the fuller figure was good look for her. She still had a little tummy, but it was slowly getting smaller.

Ally wondered what Austin would think and then immediately shook that thought out of her head. She needed to focus on repairing their friendship not their romantic relationship. She knew she still had feelings for Austin, a whole tangled mess of feelings for him that she would need to sort out soon.

"Don't get your hopes up, girl," she told herself softly. "You don't know how long this is going to last, how long he is going to stay. Just keep your head."

She laughed at herself as she began getting dressed. Ally had never really been able to keep her head together when Austin was around.

…...

Austin watched the sunrise over the ocean. He had slept really well the night before. He couldn't stop thinking about his day yesterday. Spending the day with Ally, meeting his son and working on his relationship with Dez. It was a really, really good day.

He was going to try and top it today. He was going to spend most of the day with Ally and his son again. Then he was going to take her out to dinner, just the two of them. They needed to become friends again and he needed to do the right thing by her now.

When he had talked to his parents after Ally took Tyler upstairs last night, they had made it clear how disappointed they had been with him. They had also made it clear that he had responsibilities now and they expected him to do the right thing.

He would do his best to prove to his parents that they had raised him right. He would do his best to prove to Ally that he could stand up beside her and shoulder his responsibilities. He would do his best to repair the friendship that he had been so careless with. He would do his best, he just hoped his best was going to be good enough.

…...

He pulled up to his childhood home and checked his reflection in the rear-view mirror. He smoothed his hair slightly so it would fall just right. He laughed at how long it had taken him to get ready that morning, and how focused he was on how his hair looked.

"Come on, man," he said to himself. "Today is no big deal. Just a day out with your former best friend, who you need to make your friend again. Oh yeah, she's also the mother of the child you didn't know you had, because you abandoned her. Right. No big deal."

Austin took a deep breath as he stepped out of the car and sauntered up to the front door. He let himself into the house and followed the voices he heard to the kitchen.

He stopped in the doorway and smiled at the lovely tableau in front of him. His parents were sitting at the table distracting the baby from his breakfast. His son looked like he was wearing more food than he had been fed. Ally was laughing as she tried to get the food into Tyler's mouth and not on the cheeks he kept presenting her with.

"Looks like fun," he said from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at him but he only had eyes for Ally. She looked so beautiful with her sparkling eyes and amazing smile. It was hard for him to focus on anything else.

"Hey, Mom. Dad." He moved into the room to join his family at the table.

"Austin," his Mom said as she looked away from her grandchild. "Sweetie, have you had breakfast yet?"

"Yeah," he smiled at her, finally pulling his gaze away from Ally. "I ate before I left the hotel."

"What time is it?" asked Ally. "I'm not ready yet." She rose from her seat and moved to the sink, to get something to clean Tyler's face with.

"Don't worry," Austin answered her. "It's only 9. I'm early."

His mom and dad exchanged a quizzical look. Early, it seemed to say, I didn't think he knew that word.

Austin caught sight of them and rolled his eyes at his parents. "Yes, I do know that word. I just woke up super early today and thought I would come over to see if I could help Ally with anything."

Ally laughed at him, she totally understood the look between his parents, too. And she agreed with it. The Austin she remembered would take every opportunity to sleep in. "I'm fine, now that I know I'm not late yet. Although, with hell freezing over, I might have to dress Tyler in something warmer."

Austin rolled his eyes as his parents started snickering at him. "Oh, ha, ha. Very funny."

Ally finished cleaning Tyler up and went upstairs to get her bag. When she returned to the kitchen she smiled at how Austin and his parents were still teasing each other. She finished packing her bag with last minute items from the refrigerator and, just as the clock turned to 9:30, she was ready.

"We just need to get the car seat base and stroller out of my car and then we can leave," Ally said as she strapped Tyler into his car seat. She slung her large bag over her shoulder and went to slide her arm through the car seat to pick it up, when Austin stopped her.

He picked up the car seat easily and smiled down at her. "Let me carry him for you."

"Okay," she answered as they headed out.

…...

They could not stop laughing. Through the first three houses, they couldn't find anything good about them, but they laughed at how wrong they were. The next house was better, but Austin and Ally still found several things to laugh about. At the last house, however, their laughing stopped; it was almost perfect.

Their real estate agent had been watching the young family all morning. She watched them pick apart house after house, until they found the one. She watched the mother smile at the large sunny kitchen and the nice big playroom upstairs. She watched the father smile at the outdoor pool and the large spare room which he knew would make a great studio space.

She watched them blush when she showed them that huge tub in the master bathroom and told them it could hold two. She knew this was the right home for them. "Well," she said slyly. "What do you think?"

Austin looked at Ally and shrugged. Ally looked back and smiled. "This is the one," Austin answered. "Let's make an offer."

"Great," their agent said. "We can meet at my office and you can sign the papers."

…...

After signing the papers, Austin and Ally wandered down the strip mall to a small Mexican restaurant to eat and wait for news.

"Do you want to eat inside or out," Austin asked as he maneuvered the stroller into the restaurant.

"I think out," she answered. "It's a beautiful day today."

The hostess directed them outside to a shady table and Austin parked the stroller as Ally slid her bag onto one of the chairs before collapsing into one of the others.

"I am tired, exhausted even," she said. "Looking at houses is hard work."

Austin smiled at her in agreement as he reached into the stroller and lifted a fussy Tyler out. He sat the baby on his lap and anchored him there with a large hand. Austin started bouncing his knee gently

to soothe Tyler.

"You are amazingly good with him," Ally gushed. "How does that happen? You didn't even know about him two days ago, and now you're holding him like you've been doing it forever."

Austin ducked his head down and looked at his son. "I have a really good reason to try. He's amazing."

He lifted his head and locked eyes with Ally. "And, I don't know, I guess I've been watching you and trying to do what you do with him."

She smiled and took a large drink of the water the server had set down. "Well, whatever you're doing, you're doing great."

"Thanks, Ally. That means a lot."

Ally smiled back at him and began rummaging around in her bag, pulling out a small container and spoon. "Do you mind holding him like that so I can get this lunch into him before ours gets here?"

Austin adjusted Tyler so he was facing Ally more, but was still supported. "Certainly," he replied. He watched as Ally pulled a bib out of her bag as well and she leaned forward to fasten it around Tyler. Her hands brushed his abs and a shock ran through his system.

He looked at the top of her head willing her to look up at him again, so he could try and judge if she had felt the spark, too. She took a deep breath and moved her hands away slowly, not wanting to break the connection. She lifted her head and locked her chocolate eyes with his hazel ones. He smiled slow and lazily at her and she could feel the heat traveling through her body.

The moment was broken when the baby started to fuss loudly. Ally blushed and looked away and Austin grinned knowing that she was feeling the same way that he was.

She began to feed the baby and they fell into small talk easily, like nothing had changed.

…...

After their lunch had been delivered and devoured, Tyler began to cry again from his spot in the stroller. Ally laughed. "Well, I finished just in time," she said. "Could you hand him to me and I'll nurse him?"

Austin frowned at Ally, but did as she asked pulling Tyler out of his stroller again. He watched, confused, as Ally pulled what looked like a flowered tablecloth out of her bag and hung it around her neck, spreading the fabric over herself. She reached for Tyler and tucked him underneath the fabric. It took her a coupe of moments, but Austin soon was hearing the sounds he now recognized as Tyler nursing.

Ally noticed his staring at her and cocked her head to one side. "What?" she asked.

"What is that?"

"It's a nursing cover," she smiled. "I use it when I have to nurse Tyler in public or in front of Dez."

He nodded at her. He couldn't blame her for wanting to cover up in front of Dez.

Just then his phone rang. He retrieved it from his pocket and looked at Ally excitedly. "It's the agent calling us back. Hello."

Ally leaned forward trying to hear the other side of the conversation, not realizing how invested she was in his phone call.

Austin noticed Ally and took the phone away from his ear and turned on the speaker phone.

"...hope you're ready for some good news. They accepted your offer."

"That's so great," Austin said looking at Ally excitedly.

"And," she spoke again, "since the house is empty, they've agreed to an accelerated timeline. We just need to do the inspection and set a date for closing. If you want to come back down here when you've finished lunch, we can get that all set up."

Austin nodded, but then glanced at Ally. "We're finished, but it will be about 30 minutes before we can get to your office. Ally needs to feed the baby."

"No problem, I'll see you when you get here."

Austin hung up the phone and looked happily at Ally. "This is so great. That house was perfect and only about 5 minutes from my parents house."

"I know," she smiled. "You could head over there now, you know. Tyler and I can head back when he's done."

He shook his head and smiled at her. "I'll wait for you."

She glanced at Austin again. He seemed so content and happy, it made her happy. She grinned at him as hope began to build inside her again. She felt like she was standing on the brink of something, something amazing. Ally took a deep breath and tried to steady her pulse which had started to beat faster and faster. Was she about to soar or fall?

Austin felt amazing, it was amazing this feeling, like they could do anything as long as they did it together. He remembered this feeling, he had felt it before, before he messed everything up. He was going to have to be careful and watch his step or he could crash and burn again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally.**

Chapter 9

After signing the papers that would eventually make him a home owner, he took Ally back to his parents house. He dropped her off and helped her get in with her bag and the baby before telling her he would pick her up at 6:30.

He knew it was too early to go back to his hotel, besides he was so full of energy he just couldn't stay inside his room. He ended up heading to the one place that felt like a second home to him. After he parked, he pulled out his phone and texted Dez. To Austin's surprise, Dez responded immediately with the information that he was already at the mall and would meet Austin at Mini's.

Austin reached into the backseat and pulled out a battered baseball cap. He shoved it down over his blonde hair in an attempt to conceal his identity. He got out of the car and locked it before making his way into the familiar mall. As he wound his way to Mini's, he let the memories of this place wash over him.

Almost every store here reminded him of Trish and all of her crazy work outfits. He couldn't believe that she had worked at so many places. He passed the Melody Diner and remembered the time he had worked there to get near another girl. What had he been thinking? He neared Mini's and looked around trying to locate his red-headed friend.

He saw him sitting at a table with Trish, surprisingly enough. He worked his way over to his friends who were arguing, of course.

"Are you guys going to argue all afternoon?" he asked, his voice dripping with boredom.

Trish glared him as he pulled up a chair and sat down. "We always argue. It's what we do."

Dez just nodded maniacally. Austin raised his eyebrow at his friends. "If you say so."

"Hey," Trish shouted, startling Dez. "How did house hunting go this morning?"

"House hunting?" Dez queried. "Did you bring one down?"

Austin smiled as he remembered that morning and how much fun he and Ally had. "Yeah," he grinned. "We found a great place not too far from my parents house, it even has a pool."

"We?" Trish asked slyly.

"A pool?" Dez asked. "When can I move in?"

"Ally went with me to help me pick a good house. And Dez, no you can't move in with me."

"Why'd you take Ally?" Trish asked. "And what did she say about me today?"

"Why not?" Dez whined, slouching down into his chair as he began to pout.

Austin rolled his eyes at Dez as he turned to answer Trish. "Sorry, but we didn't talk about you this morning and she had to help me find the right house. What if I bought one she didn't like, then I would have to do this all over again if we get back together."

Dez sat up straighter. "Dude, if you hurt her again, I'll never forgive you."

"I know," he answered seriously. "I know. I'm not planning on hurting her again. I can't promise that I won't be stupid and make some mistakes, but I'll never intentionally hurt her again."

Dez looked at Austin for a really long time before he answered. "Good, because you're my friend and I want it to stay that way. Plus, she needs some good in her life again."

"Trish," Austin turned to her again. "I'll try to talk to Ally about you again, see if I can move things along, but I'm not making any promises. When we go out tonight, we need to work on _our_ friendship."

Trish looked confused for a moment. "You're taking Ally out to dinner tonight?"

Austin nodded. "Yep. Just the two of us."

"Make it work," Dez said seriously.

Trish and Austin exchanged looks. "Okay, Tim Gunn," Austin said as Trish burst into laughter.

Dez looked so confused. "Who?" he asked.

Austin joined Trish and their laughter echoed around them.

…...

The three friends spent a couple of hours together catching up and making things right, always knowing that someone was missing from their foursome. As they were getting ready to head their separate ways, Austin asked the question that had bothered him for a while.

"What happened with Mr. Dawson and Ally. It just seems so weird that he would kick her out."

Dez nodded slowly as he sat back down. "I don't really know. I was just there for the big fight between everyone. But I know that Ally had argued with him before that scene. It was awful. I was so sure that she could do no wrong in his eyes, she was sure of that too, but he just _freaked_ when she told everyone she was pregnant. I can't believe he wanted her to, to ...oh, I can't even say it."

"Maybe I should go talk to him," Austin wondered out loud.

Dez shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Every time I have tried to go in to Sonic Boom and talk to him, he's kicked me out. I even saw him ask Mrs. Dawson to leave when she went on to tell him that Tyler was born."

"You're kidding," Trish said in astonishment. "This from the father who, when faced with his entire inventory being given away by his daughter, told her she couldn't read any books for a couple of days."

"Right," Dez agreed. "Mr. Dawson doesn't really know how punishments work, or didn't anyway." He shrugged. "I'm not sure why he lost his fool mind this time. Not even Mrs. Dawson could bring him around."

Austin craned his neck but had a hard time seeing the store he had spent so many hours in from here. "Well, we'll have to see about that. I've got to go. I have a date to get ready for."

He smiled at his two friends before bounding up and working his way out of the mall. He had a couple of stops to make first, though.

…...

Austin finished up his stops in the mall and began to walk slowly past Sonic Boom. The store was kind of busy, with several customers shopping. He wondered if he could get away with going in and talking to Mr. Dawson without letting him know that Austin knew what was going on.

Austin thought to himself for several long minutes debating whether or not to go in. He decided that trying to talk to Mr. Dawson had to be made. He had to know why he treated Ally so badly.

He squared his shoulder and walked into the store. He didn't see Mr. Dawson right away, so he decided that his best bet would be to just look at different things, he started in the guitar section. He took his time and slowly roamed all through the store. He finally spotted Mr. Dawson helping a customer near the front desk. He decided to stroll over that way.

Mr. Dawson seemed to be relaxed and pleasant while he finished helping the customer he was with. He looked up and noticed Austin who glanced away slowly. Mr. Dawson marched over to where Austin was. "What the hell are you doing in here?" he hissed at Austin.

"Mr. Dawson?" Austin asked confused. "I just wanted to see if Ally was here."

"She's not here. She's not anywhere you can find her. You destroyed her life. It's all your fault that she didn't listen to me and that she left." He seemed to be getting more and more upset with every word out of his mouth.

Austin looked at Mr. Dawson in shock. He could honestly say that after knowing him for 3 years, he had never seen Ally's dad behave in this way. He was starting to freak Austin out. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea.

"I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Dawson. What do you mean Ally's gone?"

"You destroyed my daughter and she gave up everything for you," Mr. Dawson's voice was beginning to get louder and customers were starting to watch the confrontation.

"So, she's not here then," Austin began. He definitely thought that this had been a bad idea. That notion was confirmed when Mr. Dawson grabbed him by the arm and tried to drag Austin out of the store. But Austin was over 6 feet tall now and he probably outweighed Mr. Dawson. He wasn't that easy to move.

"Take your hand off me," Austin ordered quietly looking furtively around the store.

When Mr. Dawson realized that he couldn't move Austin physically, he stepped closer to him and began to hiss again. "You need to get out of my store! Right now! Before you create more of a scene than you already have."

Austin quirked an eyebrow at Mr. Dawson. "I'm not the one creating a scene, sir. But don't worry. I'm leaving."

Austin turned on his heel and walked out of Sonic Boom without looking back. He was shaking. That was crazy. Mr. Dawson had gone _completely_ crazy. That was the only explanation he had for what had just occurred.

…...

He returned to his hotel room after one more stop and laid out what he was going to wear tonight: bright green v-neck shirt, dark slim pants and a dark gray jacket. He knew tonight was big, and he couldn't afford to blow it. He had to shake off the crazy scene with Mr. Dawson from earlier _and_ remember to not mention it tonight. Talking to Ally about her dad was going to be one of the last things on his list of things to do.

He straightened up his room, putting everything where it belonged. He moved into the bathroom, fixing that room as well, before starting the shower. He looked at himself in the mirror. "Okay, Austin. Let's get this night started."

…...

Ally woke up when the baby did, they had taken a long nap together. She rolled out of bed and scooped up Tyler. She needed to change him and feed him before getting ready for her night out. As she laid him down on the changing table she heard a knock at the door.

She turned slightly to see Mimi pushing open the door. "I thought I heard him," Mimi said. "Let me take him now so you can have a little more time to get ready for your date tonight."

"Are you sure?" Ally asked. "I can feed him and still have time to get ready."

"Now don't argue, tonight is important. My son seems to be trying really hard to step up and do what's right."

Ally nodded as she finished changing Tyler and passed him to Mimi. "He is. He signed those papers today, he's actually going to buy that house we found. He's been trying to make things right with me. too. He even asked me to marry him."

Mimi eyes lit up with glee. "What did you say?"

Ally cringed. "I said no, because I didn't know what else to say. I don't now if that's what I want from him. I don't know if that's the right thing for me or for Tyler."

Mimi nodded sadly at Ally. "I know he hurt you, sweetie. But I know he still loves you and I know you still love him. If you two can remember how much you love each other and he can manage to earn your forgiveness, then I believe you can have a stronger relationship than before. Sometimes you need to pull everything apart and put it back together before you know how good your relationship really is."

Ally smiled at Mimi. "Thank you, Mimi. You're the best."

"And don't worry if you come back really late or even tomorrow morning," Mimi leered. "We will keep Tyler for however long you want us to."

"Thanks Mimi, but I'm not sure that I want to do anything I might regret tonight. We'll have to see how the date goes," Ally said as she blushed and looked away from Mimi.

Mimi just giggled at Ally's reaction. "Don't worry, I have faith that whatever happens tonight, you won't regret it."

Ally blushed harder and shooed Mimi out of her room so she could get ready.

…...

When Austin arrived at his parents house, he decided not to just let himself in. He actually knocked at the door. He held his breath until Ally swung the door open. She looked exquisite.

She had her hair pulled up into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, just enough makeup on to highlight her eyes and lips and she was in a red dress that draped from one shoulder and flowed over her hips to float to a stop just above her knees. And her pointy stiletto heels made her legs look amazing.

"You look beautiful, Ally" he breathed.

She looked down at her shoes for a moment before raising her eyes to his. "Thank you, Austin. You don't look too bad yourself."

She thought he had never looked better and couldn't believe that he wanted to spend an evening getting back in her good graces. She was surprised when he pulled a fantastic bouquet from behind his back and handed them to her.

"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl," he said, with a heart-wrenching smile.

She thought her smile was going to split her face. She just couldn't stop grinning at him. She swung the door wider. "Come in while I put these in some water and then we can go."

He knew he would follow her to the kitchen and, honestly, he would follow her anywhere else she wanted him to.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally. **

Chapter 10

Once his parents finished gushing over the flowers he brought for Ally, they both kissed the baby on the top of his head and walked out the front door.

Ally looked shyly up at Austin and spoke softly. "So, where are you taking me?"

Austin smirked down at Ally as he placed a hand at the small of her back to guide her to the car. "That, Ally my dear, is a surprise."

They both felt the tingles that erupted from the touch of his hand on her back. She slowed down so she could enjoy that feeling a little longer. He started rubbing his hand in circles to extend that tingle running up his arm.

Suddenly Ally stopped and turned to wards Austin. "Oh, I forgot my bag. I'll just be a minute."

"But you already have your purse," Austin pointed out, gesturing to her small black clutch.

Ally smiled, "I know. But I need my bag, too."

She hurried back to the house while Austin waited for her on the sidewalk. He just watched her skirt swish back and forth highlighting her beautiful legs.

She returned with a large gray bag slung over her shoulder. "What's in the bag?" Austin asked slyly. "Are you planning an overnight stay?"

She blushed deeply and turned her head away for a moment before shyly meeting his gaze. His mouth completely dried up at the adorable look on her face. She seemed so embarrassed.

"No," she said quietly. "Not at the moment. But it does have some things that I might need later."

Austin quirked an eyebrow at her and smiled a slow, sexy smile. "Not going to share that info with me are you?"

"Nope," she said with a shy smile as she looked up at him. The smile grew a little wider and her eyes darkened slightly. "Maybe later."

She turned to walk down the sidewalk to the driveway but stopped as soon as she saw the car in the driveway. She looked confusedly from the car to Austin and back to the car again. "What's that?"

Austin laughed softly at her confusion. "That's my new car. I couldn't drive around in a rental forever and so I ordered this earlier this week. It just came in today."

"Wow," Ally exclaimed. "This has been kind of a big week for you. It's beautiful."

She walked over to the brand-new, bright blue Ford Mustang convertible and ran her hand over the hood. "Wow," she said again. The car looked amazing, almost as good as Austin looked tonight.

He pushed a button on his remote and the trunk popped open. He held his hand out for her bag and stowed it safely for her. Then he walked around the car and held her door open for her. She slipped into the luxurious leather interior and shivered. Austin brushed his fingers across her shoulder and Ally turned her head to look up at him. He got caught in for eyes for a second as he watched them darken slightly. He shook his head to clear it before he pulled her out of the car and kissed her senseless.

Austin hurried around the car and slid into his own seat. He turned to look at her and smiled, his hazel eyes twinkled at her. "I hope you're hungry," he said. "We have reservations."

Reservations where?" she asked not able to tear her eyes away from him.

Again he smiled, slow and lazily, making her mouth water in anticipation. She reached behind herself for her seat belt, but struggled to find it as she couldn't take her eyes off of Austin's.

He leaned closer to her and reached for her seat belt, which he slowly pulled across her and fastened securely. "There," he whispered. "All safe and sound."

He finally broke eye contact with her as her started the car and pulled out into the street. Ally took a shaky breath as she also turned from him and faced front. Well, well, well. Tonight was going to be interesting, indeed.

…...

They arrived at a small Italian restaurant downtown and after helping her out of the car he escorted her in. They were seated in a secluded booth. The interior of the restaurant was softly lit and the candles on the white tablecloth between them were setting a romantic mood.

Ally looked over her menu as she covertly watched Austin do the same. He ordered sparkling water for both of them and took a deep breath as their server set a basket of bread between them.

"Ally," he said nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "I feel like I owe you an apology. Again. I made a huge mistake and I really want to make things right."

Ally frowned slightly as she perused the menu. She looked up at him again and saw the truth of it in his eyes, he had always been easy to read. She nodded. "Austin, I know. I just need some time to process this, whatever this is. I need to try and do the right thing for my son."

"Our son," he corrected. "I want to be involved with him, too. Trish is helping me figure out what my legal responsibilities are. I want to start paying child support."

Ally nodded again and swallowed the knot in her throat. "I know he's your son, too. He's our son, but I guess I'm just scared. I have to be responsible, I'm not sure if you understand that he's there all the time. He always has to be taken care of."

"I can understand that you might be hesitant to believe me. To believe in me again. I know I won't always be here in Miami. I will have to tour again. This is the choice I have made. I make music, I perform music. I hope I have a better handle on the touring side of it now so can have some balance in my life."

He continued speaking, "I know that I had a hard time adjusting to touring last year and by the time I had figured out how to manage my time on the road, I had already lost you. I just want a chance. A chance to prove to you that I have changed."

She set down the menu and was stopped from answering by the waitress's arrival. The waitress was annoying because she realized who Austin was and she could hardly be bothered with Ally.

"Oh. My. God!" she exclaimed. "You're Austin Moon! The Austin Moon is here! In my section! I can't believe this." She was starting to draw attention from the other diners as she continued to get louder.

Austin frowned up at the waitress who was gushing over him and he glanced at Ally. He watched Ally's demeanor change from relaxed and calm to agitated and annoyed in a split second. He held up a hand to the waitress.

"Excuse me," he said softly. "I'd be glad to sign something for you, but I'm trying to have dinner with a good friend of mine and if you can't treat her as well as you are trying to treat me, then I'm going to have to request another server. I was assured that the service here was excellent and that I wouldn't be bothered during this private dinner."

The waitress looked taken aback for a moment. She took a deep breath, looked over at her manager who was frowning at her, took a moment to collect herself and turned to Ally, "My apologies. May I take your order?"

As Ally ordered she looked at Austin and couldn't help but be impressed. The Austin she used to know would have flirted with the waitress not asked for better service. And he used to take any opportunity to promote himself, as well. She had watched him leave the table and sign autographs for anyone who wanted them. This new Austin was becoming more and more intriguing.

After the waitress left with their orders, Ally folded her hands into her lap and leveled her gaze at Austin. "That was impressive. I'm not sure you would have handled that as well a year ago. No, I know you wouldn't have."

Austin laughed. "No, you're right. I wouldn't have handled that well at all. But I had a lot of time to think on the road. I'm prioritizing much better now. And you are a priority to me."

She blushed and ducked her head. He was getting better and better, she thought to herself. It was getting really hard to keep her emotions in check.

"You know, I never asked you," he said drawing her eyes back to his. "Where are you working now and are you on maternity leave?"

She smiled at him. "I"m working at Starr Records. Jimmy released me from my contract when I asked him to, because of the pregnancy. We both thought it was the best thing. He didn't really want a teenage pregnancy as the face of his company and neither did I. I work for him as a song-writer. And, I guess, technically, I am on maternity leave."

"Technically?"

"Yes, Tyler came about a week before we thought he would, just excited to see the world I guess, and I was working with Kira on a song. We hadn't really finished it and her second album will be coming out soon, plus she's the boss's daughter. That's why I had to go in on Friday."

Austin looked at her thoughtfully. "Don't you wish..."

She cut him off with a look. "No, Austin. I don't wish. I know I was young when I found out I was pregnant, heck, I'm still young. I know I had to struggle with a lot of people's opinions about it, including my own father's. But Tyler was worth it."

Austin nodded at her. He looked sadly at her. "Again, I'm really sorry. You shouldn't have been alone for any of that."

She smiled sadly back. "I know you're sorry Austin, but I wasn't alone. I had Dez. I had my mom. I had your parents. Even if you had known, it wouldn't have changed anything about that. You would have still been on tour. You couldn't have left just to be here with me. It's the reason that neither Jimmy or Kira told you about it when they saw you."

Austin agreed with her but he had a hard time reconciling that. Finally he nodded again. "You're right. I couldn't have been here physically, but I still should have been here emotionally."

"I know, but you weren't and we can only go forward from here." Ally took a deep breath and said something Austin wasn't expecting. "I think it's time to move on from this. I am forgiving you for what happened last year. I am trying to move forward, but we have to stop dragging it all out."

She stopped Austin from speaking with a look. "Just listen. Let's just say that you were wrong and try to move forward and find out how to be friends again. After the last two days, I don't think we'll have any problems with that. Besides, I really want to forgive you."

Austin just looked at her in shock for a moment. He was absolutely floored by how amazing she was. "Is that really how you feel?"

Ally smiled at him. "Yes, that is really how I feel. Just don't walk away from us again. Or there won't be any coming back from that."

He took a deep breath, because he knew she was right, he could never do that to her again. He looked into her eyes and smiled that slow, lazy smile again. "I am not going anywhere."

That was the first time that she really believed him when he said something like that and her heart swelled in her chest. Hope, which she thought had disappeared from her life, had sprung back up into her.

As their salads were served, they began to talk to each other. They talked about everything. They talked about nothing. They just talked. And talked. And they both began to feel as if things were going to be alright again. Their friendship was going to good again.

What came next between them was still a mystery, but they would be friends while they figured it out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally**.

Chapter 11

When dessert was being served, Austin finally told her part of what he had done that day. "Hanging out with Dez and Trish at the mall was great," he said as he smiled at her. "But we missed you."

Ally smiled at him over her tiramisu. "Dez texted me all about it. He said you guys had a great time."

She looked at Austin expectantly, as if waiting for him to bring up the most important part of that meeting. Austin looked guiltily down at his own dessert, chocolate lava cake, and took a bite before answering. Ally just waited patiently as she also began eating.

"I asked him about your Dad," Austin said softly.

Ally just nodded her head. "That's what Dez said. He also said he told you not to go see him."

Austin swallowed hard, "I know, but I couldn't help myself. Your Dad, he wasn't very nice to you and I had to see what had changed. I didn't, of course, see what had changed. He asked me to leave the store. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone in. I should have listened to Dez."

Ally sighed as she looked at Austin. "Always the sweet guy..." she sighed. "I'm glad he's back. I missed him. And I appreciate your trying on my behalf to talk to my Dad, but he's not going to be easily changed back into my laid-back father. There are other things going on that no one knows about."

Austin watched as she began to eat again and he took a sip of his coffee. "Do I get to know what those things are?"

She shook her head slightly and he was disappointed, she used to tell him everything. "Not yet, I'm just not ready to discuss it. Plus, there's nothing to do to fix it until my Mom comes back from Africa this fall, so there's no use worrying about it."

He tilted his head to one side and looked at her as if he didn't understand what she had just said.

"What?" she questioned, looking up and him and forgetting her dessert.

"Ally Dawson. Not worrying about something. That's something I thought I would never hear," he said in astonishment.

She smiled at him again. "I know, right? But, don't worry, there are other things to worry about, I just have to prioritize."

He laughed and they went back to eating their desserts.

…...

Austin and Ally were in his car with the top down driving back to his parents house, or so Ally thought. They actually pulled up in front of the house that Austin was going to buy.

Ally looked over at Austin. "What are we doing here?" she asked.

Austin slowly turned off the car and turned to face Ally. He smiled at her and once again she felt her mouth drying up at the look in his eyes. He reached out and picked up her hand. He stroked his fingers over the back of it and the tingles his touch was sending up her arm were making it hard to breathe.

"I just didn't want tonight to end so soon," he smiled wider as his eyes began to light up. Austin was very aware of what he was doing to Ally. "And I wanted to talk to you about the house."

Ally looked confused as she tried to bring her thoughts around to what Austin was saying. She was having a really hard time focusing on anything but the feelings his fingers were creating. All Ally felt was a kind of burning everywhere he touched, the burning was slowly moving through her and turning into want. She shook her head and raised her gaze from their hands to his eyes.

"What about the house?" she asked breathlessly. He leaned forward so their foreheads were almost touching. He looked down at their hands which were still entwined. He looked back up and locked his hazel eyes with her chocolate ones.

"I want you and Tyler to live here with me," he said softly. "I wasn't going to ask you so soon, but I just felt like I had to put it out there. I love this house and I know you love it, too. I'm buying it as much for you as I am for me."

Ally took a deep breath and reached a hand up to brush her fingertips down his cheek. Now it was Austin's turn to be distracted by the tingling that her touch was creating. Austin closed his eyes and leaned slightly into her hand. "Austin...I..," she started.

He placed one finger on her lips to stop her from speaking. "Shh...just...come here," he said just like he had years before.

She smiled and reached her arms around his neck pulling him into a hug. Austin smiled as well and slid his arms around her back, pulling her as close as he could in the car.

"I'm not expecting an answer tonight. I want you to think about it, but I want you to know that this is what I want. This is where I want my family," he whispered in her ear.

He felt Ally nod her head against his neck. "I will think about it," she whispered back.

They sat there for a while, entwined in each other, lost in the feelings they were experiencing. Remembering all of the good times they had spent together when they were just good friends, when they first tried dating and tried too hard or not hard enough; they never could tell what had happened that first time they dated.

They remembered their second first date. Their second first kiss. Their eyes met; their eyes asked and answered the question that they had both been too afraid to ask out loud. And suddenly they were completely wrapped up in each other, kissing. All that existed for them was the kiss.

It was blue; a little bit sad as they remembered how long it had been since they had done this.

It was yellow: a little bit happy as they remembered how to do this.

It was red; so hot, it was burning them up and they tried not to let it consume them.

It was white; nothing existed for them outside of the kiss.

Austin tilted his head and slid one hand up to the nape of her neck. The fingers of his of his other hand burned a trail of fire as he spread them across her back, almost spanning the entire width as he tried to pull her even closer. He brushed his tongue over her lower lip begging for entrance. She gasped and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

They kissed and kissed and kissed. They kissed until they were breathless. They kissed until they had to break apart for air. The panted and rested their heads together, forehead to forehead.

Ally reached a hand up to rest on his chest. "What was that?" she laughed.

Austin chuckled and took a deep breath to held calm his racing heart. "I think I remember," he smiled. "I think it's called a kiss."

She shook her head at him and swallowed hard as she tried to calm herself. "Now I remember," she said shyly, finally pulling back and raising her eyes to meet his.

"I've been wanting to do that since Thursday night," Austin said softly. "Thank you for letting me."

Ally smiled a brilliant smile. "I've really wanted you to do that, too."

Austin leaned closer to Ally, but she pulled away. "Ally," he whined. "I want to do that again."

She laughed and the sound surrounded Austin. He laughed along with her.

"You'll just have to earn another one then," she teased. "But, even though your mom gave me permission to stay out all night, you should probably take me home."

Austin's mouth fell open in shock. "Wait, my mom told you that you could stay out all night with me, but you want me to take you home. I don't understand."

Ally laughed again at Austin's expression. "Well, I think we've had enough excitement for one night and it was a great night. We should end it on a high note."

He reached out and cupped her head with one hand. "But I don't want tonight to be over."

He trailed his fingers down her neck, over her shoulder and so very slowly down her arm to take her hand in his.

She smiled softly up at him. "It doesn't have to be, you can come over and we can watch a movie."

"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "That does sound good, but I know something that sounds better."

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "And what might that be?"

"Well," he drawled. He leaned forward to breathe his next words into her ear. "You could come back to my hotel with me and we could watch a movie there. Order up sundaes from room service and extend your mommy's night out."

She smirked at him as she pushed him away and laughed again. She shook her head, "While that does sound good..," she started.

Austin reached up and laid a finger on her lips to stop her from speaking again. Ally looked up at him and smiled behind his finger.

"Please, Ally," he interrupted. "You work so hard, you really deserve some time off. And, you did bring a bag..."

He pouted at her and flashed his best puppy dog eyes at her. Her smile grew wider and she shook her head again.

He pushed his bottom lip out farther, "Please?"

She gently moved his hand from her mouth. "I'll let you pick the movie," she said.

Austin stopped pouting. "Any movie?" he asked. He knew she wasn't ready to come back to his hotel with him and he really didn't want tonight to end, they both knew he was going to be the one to cave.

She knew she had him but kept up the pressure. "Yep, _any movie_ and I'll make popcorn."

He leaned in and softly pressed his lips against hers. For a moment she was lost in his kiss again but he pulled back and asked, "Will I get to kiss you again if I come over?"

"Oh," she said breathlessly. "I think that can be arranged."

He nodded at her and turned to face the front of the car again.

…...

They arrived back at his parents house and after checking on Tyler and letting his parents know they were home, Ally made popcorn while Austin picked out a movie and set it up.

She brought the popcorn into the darkened living room. "What's all this?" she asked. He had been busy while she was in the kitchen: the lights were dim, his jacket and shoes had been removed and he was snuggled under a blanket waiting for her.

He shrugged from his spot on the couch and watched shamelessly as she stepped out of her heels and bent forward to toss them under the coffee table. She slid onto the couch next to Austin and rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her snugly into his chest and covering her with the soft blanket.

"Alright," he said gleefully. "It's time for Zaliens."

Apparently he hadn't changed as much as she thought. She rolled her eyes at him and asked, "Which one?"

He smiled down at her as he pressed the start button. "Does it matter?"

Austin leaned down and kissed her hard. He deepened the kiss and pulled her closer. She broke the kiss for a moment and looked into his heavily lidded eyes. Then she slid herself on to his lap and brought her lips crashing down on his as her own eyes slid shut.

Apparently it didn't matter what movie they watched as neither of them was going to be watching the movie. They just surrendered and fell into the kiss again.

…...

Austin and Ally finally pulled apart a couple of hours later, just as the credits were rolling, to the sound of crying echoing down the stairs.

Ally pulled out of Austin's embrace and climbed out of his lap. "Sorry, I need to go get him."

"Bring him down here, so I can say goodnight?" Austin pleaded.

Ally nodded as she hurried up the stairs.

Major inroads had been made tonight in their relationship. Healing had begun. Maybe they were ready to begin again. Third time's the charm, right?


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I appreciate the reviews, thank you very much.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Austin & Ally, I'm just having a little fun with them.**

Chapter 12

Trish de la Rosa couldn't take it any more. She had to go to Ally and, at least, try to repair their friendship. You don't just call it quits on 13 years of friendship because one of the friends did something unspeakably cruel to the other...again. Did you? No, Trish refused to believe it.

That's how she found herself in her car on her way to Austin's parent's house on this fine Sunday afternoon. She had spent most of the weekend catching up with her own parents and her brother, but she had had enough of her family for now.

Even spending part of the previous day with Dez and Austin didn't make her content, she really needed her best friend. But she was going to have figure out how to get in today, because Austin still hadn't called her and told her it was alright to come over.

She would just have to deal with that when she got there. And it was really bugging her that Austin, who had done basically the same thing as her, had gotten back into Ally's good graces so easily. It really rankled Trish. She was supposed to be the one that Ally forgave first, she was supposed to be the one welcomed back easily. But she wasn't and now, now she was angry.

She parked her car and made her way to the front of the house, but before she could knock she decided to try a different approach. Trish crossed the lawn and the driveway noticing Austin's brand-new mustang sitting there. She made her way quietly around the house and she found them, Austin and Ally, just sitting there on the patio talking. Like nothing was wrong in the world.

Well, Trish de la Rosa was here to tell them that something _was_ wrong. She was about to tell them _exactly_ what was wrong when Ally looked up and noticed her lurking by the side of the house. All of her anger drained away just as the happy look on Ally's fell away. Trish watched as Ally's face closed up and drained of color.

Austin was the first to speak as he noticed Ally's face. "It wasn't that bad of a joke, Ally," he said. Then he really looked at her and noticed that she wasn't looking at him. He adjusted his hold on the child in his lap and turned to look over his shoulder. He shook his head at Trish and sighed before turning to face Ally once more.

"Ally," he began gently. "Do you want me to make her leave?"

Trish almost opened her mouth to tell Austin that she would like to see him try to make her leave, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from Ally. She just looked so despondent that Trish couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Ally?" Austin prodded desperately, trying to get her to say something, anything, so he would know what to do.

Ally shook herself slightly and finally looked at Austin. "No," she said sadly. "I need to talk to her sometime, right?"

Austin nodded back and asked, "Do you want me to stay. I can take Tyler into Mom."

Ally smiled a very small smile, but this time he could see that it actually reached her eyes as she looked up at him. "No, I'll be fine. You take him in and let us talk. Girl to Girl."

Austin smiled at Ally before rising from the table and adjusting his hold on his son, who had begun to fuss from all the tension. "You know where I am if you need me," he said to Ally as he turned to go in the house.

He stopped in front of Trish and frowned down at her. "Thanks for waiting for my call," he said with a sarcastic bite. "I'm sure you had a good reason for rushing her. Oh, I know, you were doing what was right for you, right? You somehow think that you're the one that has been slighted here."

He sighed again and looked down at Trish sadly. "We were wrong, Trish, so desperately wrong, to do what we did. To do what I did. To do what you did. I hope you keep that in mind."

He pushed open the door and shut it loudly behind him. Trish was stunned to say the least. She had hardly expected Austin to say anything like that to her. To _her_. But just as she was about to scream through the door after him, Ally spoke quietly from behind her, reminding her that she was indeed the one who was in the wrong.

"What brings you here today, Trish?" Ally asked quietly.

Trish turned and felt all of her misplaced anger drain out of her when she saw the look on Ally's face. Ally looked broken. Her best friend was broken and Trish was the cause of almost all of it. Oh sure, Austin had participated, but Trish had been the one to start it, Trish was the one who had finished it.

"Ally," Trish said as she stepped forward quickly. "I'm really sorry."

Ally looked her up and down and Trish began to see the spark of anger in her friend's eyes. Ally slowly set her shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest tightly. "For what?" Ally asked.

That question kind of put Trish off. What did she mean for what, can't a girl just apologize to her best friend without having to explain why she's apologizing?

Ally eyes began to fill with tears but she tried to hold them back. "Trish, I need an answer to my questions. Why are you here? What exactly are you apologizing for? These questions are important to me and if you can't answer them, then we're done here."

"Done here," spluttered Trish. "What are you talking about 'done here?' We're not done here, are we?"

"We will be if you don't sit down and start talking to me. I deserve answers to those questions." Trish was taken aback. Ally had never acted like this before. Ally had always forgiven Trish easily for any indiscretion and Trish had had no reason to believe that it would be any different this time. Apparently she had been wrong.

She pulled out a chair and sat down at the table facing Ally. She took several deep breaths to try and calm herself. Trish looked up at Ally and finally began to realize how upset and hurt she really was. Trish ducked her head and started over.

"I don't know what we were thinking, what I was thinking, really. I just wanted to get Austin through his tour in one piece. And if that meant cutting all ties and just focusing on the tour, that's what I had to do. What I had to make him do."

Trish was forced to swallow hard to keep the bile from rising in her throat, "Ally. I was just doing my job. I know it was wrong of me, I do know that, but I wanted the tour to go well, so Austin's future would be secured. I didn't realize how much that would hurt the ones we left behind."

"Just doing your job," Ally repeated. "That's the same line of crap that Austin tried to feed me about you and your actions. Why was that the only thing that was important to you. Your job. Austin's career. What about Dez and I? Did you really think you were going to treat us that way for a year and then, when you returned, everything would go back to how it was before?"

Ally took a breath and continued before Trish could even think of how to respond to her.

"I would still write songs with Austin and Dez would still make videos and everything would be hunky-dory. We would still be best friends and it didn't matter what became of the love I had for someone else, because _you_ would slip easily back into your life here and nothing would change for _you_."

Ally continued to rant at Trish, "I can't believe how selfish you have been. And yes, if you're going to ask if I think what you did to me was worse than what Austin did, I do think that. You were my friend for thirteen years and you just let that friendship die, thinking I would never change. That I would always forgive you and let you back in my life. Well, guess what, it's not that going to be that easy. Because I have changed."

Ally finally stopped as the tears began to flow down her cheeks. Trish was astonished, absolutely flabbergasted. She had never seen Ally behave that way, never seen her be so angry with anyone.

Trish honestly had no idea what to do, so she sat there and thought about what Ally had said. She tried to put herself in Ally's place and she began to cry as well.

The door slid open and Austin reappeared with a box of tissues which he sat on the center of the table. He looked at the crying women before him and swallowed hard, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do. He reached over and caressed Ally's cheek brushing some of the tears away and bent over to deposit a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm just inside if you need me," he whispered before he walked back in the house.

"Why was it so easy for him," Trish asked bitterly. "Why did you let him back in?"

Ally sighed as she reached for a tissue to dry her eyes. "Because he didn't hurt me as much as you did. Because I have a very good reason to let him back in my life. I have his child and he deserves to be a part of his son's life, no matter how much he hurt me. And, maybe, because all he does is apologize to me and ask what he can do to make it right. All the time. I can tell that he really _is_ sorry and that he _is_ trying to change. I haven't seen that from you."

"But, I came over here and snuck in the back yard to tell you how sorry I was," Trish started.

Ally smiled a sad, bittersweet smile. "No you didn't. Maybe that's what you thought you were going to do, but by the time you got here you were angry with me for pushing you away and not letting you back in. You were going to yell at me when you walked around the corner. Do you really think I wouldn't know that?"

Trish swallowed again and reached for a tissue herself. After drying her eyes, she began to talk again. "Look Ally, I took you for granted, I took our friendship for granted. I pushed Austin to do something he didn't want to do. I'm sorry for all of those things. I'm sorry we left you here alone to deal with something that...I don't even know what that was. How hard that was for you."

Ally nodded and reached for another tissue. "It was devastating to me when I found out, at first. I knew my life was going to change. I didn't know how much it was going to change, but I did know it was going to change. Then my Dad freaked out and when I needed you the most, when I need Austin the most, you took over and pushed me away."

The tears started to flow down her cheeks again as she faced Trish. "I knew I wanted my child. I knew, in my heart, that Austin would want our child. I knew he couldn't leave the tour and that he wouldn't be able to be here in Miami for me, but I knew he would be _here_ for me." She rubbed her heart. "And you took that all away from me with one cruel phone call."

Trish looked away from Ally as she also began to feel tears flow down her cheeks again. She took a deep breath and tried to wipe them away. She knew Ally was right, she had been cruel. She just didn't know how to fix this.

"Ally, again, I did some horrible things and I am so sorry for them," Trish started.

Ally smiled sadly and shook her head. "I know you're sorry Trish, but sometimes sorry isn't enough."

Trish at across the table from her best friend hardly believing what Ally was saying. Sorry isn't enough. What more could she say? What more could she do? Trish couldn't even think fast enough to respond to what Ally said.

"I know that we are going to have to repair our friendship," Ally stated flatly. "I am aware that you work closely with Austin. I am going to have a relationship with Austin, a relationship which has not been defined as of yet, but he will be in my life and in my son's life. You can't come between he and I again, ever."

"You also are going to have to deal with this at my pace, not yours, Trish. This friendship repair will be accomplished on my terms, not yours. And you are just going to have to deal with that. You destroyed our friendship your way and I am only going to rebuild it my way. Take it or leave it."

Trish nodded slowly. Ally had changed and, apparently, she wasn't going to be able to deal with her that way that she used to. She was just going to have to deal with it. Until their friendship had recovered from the damage she had done, she was going to have to deal with Ally on Ally's terms.

"I'll take it. I never realized how much damage I had done. I promise not to show up unannounced again. I promise to take this slow, because I want to be friends with you again and this is what you need."

Ally nodded. "Okay, how about we go to lunch on Tuesday? So we can talk some more. I know a great little place near the mall, not in it mind you. I'll get your number from Austin and text you the details."

"That sounds great, Ally. I'll be there"

Ally nodded as she rose from the table and walked into the house, right into Austin's waiting arms. He just held her as she cried.

Trish heard Ally sobbing and was overcome with emotion for several minutes as she finally understood the damage she had done to her best friend. She wiped her tears away and walked back to her car the way she had come.

Progress had been made, an age-old friendship that had been shattered was slowly being put back together and a love that had been lost was being sought again.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally.**

Once again, Ally was getting ready for bed emotionally drained from her day. Trish had come over and Ally had yelled at her and cried with her and yelled at her some more. She felt better, just a bit better, but better nonetheless. But she was tired, so tired from all of the emotional upheaval this weekend.

Austin had finally found out about their son. He took it remarkably well, all things considered. He had left for a year and stopped calling her almost immediately, but when he found out about his son, he stepped up. He was trying to do the right thing. He had asked her to marry him. He was buying a house. He had asked her to move in with him. He had asked her to marry him.

Now she just had to figure out why he had asked her that; was it just because of Tyler, was it because of something more? It would be really great to know, she would just have to wait and see if he could tell her what she needed to know before she answered that question. If he asked her that question again.

She slipped a loose-fitting t-shirt over her head and comfortable yoga shorts on. She picked up her brush and began running it through her long dark hair. Ally closed her eyes and images from this weekend filtered through her mind. Austin angry and hurt. Trish angry. She sighed deeply and hoped, that everything would be resolved soon and life would go on.

There were still things that had to be dealt with between her and Austin. There were still trust issues on both their parts. He hadn't said much about it, but Ally knew he was angry with her for not telling him about the baby, even though she had been told not to call him and he had stopped calling her. She was still wondering when it was going to happen again, the abandonment, and she knew she needed to be able to let that go before anything real could happen between them.

Honestly, they were well on their way to rebuilding their friendship, and they were on the path to rebuilding their romantic relationship as well. Whether they continued building things into something even more was still a question in her mind. Did she want to continue on this path with Austin, finding a deeper relationship with him and making a family? Of course she did.

Ally's eyes flew open as she looked at herself in the mirror of her bathroom. She set the brush down on the counter and looked at herself. Did you really just think that? Yes, I did. She took a couple of deep breaths and told herself to slow down. They couldn't be doing this so quickly, could they?

She started making a list in her head. Pro: Tyler would have a father. Pro: She wouldn't be a single parent anymore. Pro: She wouldn't be alone. Pro: Austin would make a great father. Pro: Mike and Mimi would be her family. Pro: She loved him. Pro: He loved her. Con: He would still have to travel and tour.

One con and seven pros. Maybe it was time to take a chance.

…...

Austin was sitting in his parent's living room, holding his sleepy son and reflecting on the events of the day. He was so angry with Trish for barging in before Ally was ready to face her. He was so proud of Ally for standing up to her friend who had truly hurt her, more than even he had understood until he held her sobbing body in his arms.

He had just let her cry. He had tried to soothe her by running his hand up and down her back, but she just cried and cried. She cried for what seemed like forever, but finally, finally, she stopped and just swayed in his arms. He had led her to the kitchen table and fetched her a glass of water.

After peeking out the window to check that Trish had gone, he sat down next to Ally and reached for her hands. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

She smiled and shook her head, letting her hair fall over her face. He gently reached over and brushed it back. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry you had to do that before you were ready."

She took a couple of deep breaths and looked up at him. "Thank you," she said.

He tilted his head in confusion. "What are you thanking me for?"

She looked down at her hands, which he still held in his. She smiled to herself and raised her eyes to his. "For being here. Just for being here for me."

Austin smiled at her. "This is where I'm supposed to be."

He remembered feeling so safe when he had said that to her. He knew that this was where he was supposed to be, and even if he had to travel or go back out on tour, he would always be here. Because this was where his heart was now. Well, if he were honest, this was where his heart had always been. It just took him too long to figure that out and he almost lost everything that was important to him.

Austin knew that he was meant to be with Ally. She was meant to be with him. All he had to do now was prove to Ally that he was a changed man.

He looked down at the child in his arms and his heart filled with love. He wanted so badly to have this feeling in his life everyday. He wanted Ally. He wanted Tyler. He wanted his family. And he would get them, he promised himself and the child in his arms. They would all be together.

…...

Mimi Moon watched her son cradle his son, and her heart swelled with joy. She was watching something special unfold before her. Her son was falling more and more in love with his own child. She was still angry for what he had done to Ally, but if Ally could forgive him, so could she.

He seemed to be growing up almost before her eyes and she found it almost painful to watch her son transform. It was very bittersweet, but she knew that she was proud of the man she was watching now even as the child in his arms reminded her of the child he had been.

She was so very proud of him, taking all of this in stride. Accepting the son that she and Mike had not told him about, even when the truth of it burned in her mouth and she wanted to scream through the phone that he had been so stupid to just let Ally go. That he was missing something profound and life-altering by rejecting her. That he was going to miss seeing himself in his son.

But he was here now, and making up for lost time. Mimi's arms felt empty this weekend, because whenever Ally wasn't holding her grandchild, Austin was. She was so happy that Austin was finally here and that he hadn't just run away again, that she would live with the temporary change. But maybe it wasn't temporary.

Maybe this was how it would be, he had asked Ally to marry him. And if she said yes when he asked her again, and surely he would ask her again, then that beautiful grandchild wouldn't be living with them anymore.

That thought was difficult, because she had grown used to almost unlimited grandchild time. She promised herself that she would give it up, in a heartbeat, if it meant her son and his love and their child could become a family. She was glad she would get a front row seat to this wonderful show, three people coming together and forming a bond that would withstand the test of time.

Mimi could hardly wait for forever to find them.

…...

Trish was alone in her room, thinking. It had never been one of her strong suits. Especially when it came to thinking about other people. But she couldn't help it. All she could think about was Ally.

Trish had screwed up and in the process she had completely screwed herself. Everything that Ally had said to her today was true. Trish was selfish and she had thought that Ally would forgive her easily and everything would go back to the way it had been before. She couldn't believe how wrong she had been. About everything.

She was sick about how she had treated her best friend, especially when it had been revealed that her best friend had had some extremely difficult things to get through this last year and Trish had made her suffer through them alone. Well, not alone, but without the people she needed the most.

Well, she was resolving to not let her anger get in the way of fixing everything with Ally. She was not going to get mad at her friend when she should really be mad at herself. She would look forward and try to do things Ally's way. It would take everything she had but Trish would do it, because she missed Ally and she really wanted to make things right.

…...

Austin noticed his mom in the doorway and smiled at her. "Hey, Mom," he said.

Mimi crossed into the room and joined her son on the couch. "Hey sweetie," she answered. "I'm glad you didn't freak out and run when you found out about Tyler. I'm sorry your father and I couldn't tell you about him. I know you're probably angry at us, but we had to do it. Ally was insistent that she be the one to tell you."

Austin shook his head and looked his mother in the eyes. "Why would you think I would run?"

She snapped her gaze back to his and squirmed uncomfortably next to him. "Well, to be honest, you weren't exactly treating Ally very well and you didn't make a big effort to talk to your Dad and I very often either. It just seemed like you were cutting all ties here. It seemed like you were becoming a man that we wouldn't like very much."

"But you've really surprised us," Mike interjected as he entered the room and sat down in his chair. "You found out you had a child with the woman you loved, and still love if I'm not mistaken, but you had abandoned her and she was angry with you. You came back and you stayed and you listened. We're very proud of you for that."

Austin found himself stunned. He looked between his parents and then down at his son quickly before looking at his father. "Thank you. I know that I treated Ally badly. Winnow I wasn't here when I should have been. But, you're right, I do love her and I am falling more in love with this little guy every day. I am going to do the right thing here, not because I have to but because I want to. I need to."

Mike and Mimi exchanged looks. "Very proud of you," Mimi whispered as she pulled her son into a hug. "But I think you should take Tyler upstairs now, he's almost asleep."

"Thanks, Mom." He looked over at his father and smiled. "Thanks Dad, that means a lot. And just so you know, I'm right where I belong and I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not really angry with you for keeping this from me. You stood by Ally and did what she wanted. So, I'm grateful to you for doing what I couldn't."

…...

Ally was just about to head downstairs when she saw Austin bringing Tyler up. She led the way into her room and watched as Austin tucked him into his crib. She smiled as she watched Austin brush his fingertips lightly over Tyler's head and she leaned into Austin as he slid an arm around her back and pulled her close. They watched their son sleeping and wondered if he dreamed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally, just trying to have a little fun. **

Chapter 14

Monday morning dawned bright and clear. And the quiet little world that Austin and Ally had been living in was about to explode.

The first phone call of the day was from Trish to Austin.

Austin rolled over in his bed at the hotel and groaned when he heard his phone ringing. He picked it up and groaned again when he saw who was calling and what time it was. No one should call you at 6:32 in the morning, he was sure of it. He answered his phone, his voice raspy. "Trish, what the hell?"

"No time for that Austin, just listen," Trish interrupted. ""Are you listening? Are you awake enough to hear, actually hear, what I have to tell you?"

Austin shook his head and held the phone away from his head a little, Trish was louder than usual today. He sat up and took a deep breath as he put his phone back up to his ear. "Yeah, Trish. I'm awake. What is it?"

"Good Morning Miami is running a segment on you today, which you already knew. They are promoting you and your interview with them on Friday. But they called me this morning with questions about you and Ally. They have photos of the two of you all over town this weekend. They have photos of Tyler."

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Austin complained. "How did they find us? How did they even know I was here in Miami? Weren't they supposed to think I was on vacation before coming back here and starting my new album? They have pictures of Tyler? Crap. Ally is going to kill me."

"Yes they have some very nice pictures of the three of you walking through a shopping mall and having lunch together. They e-mailed them to me this morning asking for a comment. So, what's our comment?"

"You haven't made one yet?" Austin asked in surprise as he pulled his phone away from his ear to stare at it for a moment, incredulously.

"No," Trish's tone of voice softened considerably. "I owe her. And you. And I haven't made a comment yet. My inclination is to not make a comment today, but give you some time to figure this out. I think I can stall them for the rest of the day, well, until their morning broadcast is over anyway. But, they go on at seven so you should get on the phone to Ally."

He nodded, then realized that she couldn't see him and said, "Yeah, okay. I'll call her. But no comment from us until I call you back. And e-mail me those photos they sent you."

Trish quickly agreed, but told him to hurry and signed off. Austin rolled out of bed and pulled jeans and a gray t-shirt on, grabbed his wallet, phone, keys and a dark hooded sweatshirt before running his hand through his blonde hair. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and then pulled a pair of dark sunglasses and a dark blue ball cap out of his suitcase. After situating these items, hiding his hair and eyes, he walked out of his room and hurried to the elevator.

When he reached his car in the underground parking garage, he made sure to put the top up and roll up the darkened windows. As he pulled out, he hit Ally's speed dial. He hoped she had turned on her phone already, but when he heard the voice telling him the phone could not be reached he hung up and quickly dialed his home number.

"Good morning, Moon residence," his mother's perky voice greeted him.

"Mom," he ground out. "I really need to talk to Ally, and you need to turn on Good Morning Miami and record it for me."

"Austin, what's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know for sure, Mom. But I know I need to talk to Ally about it first," he said, taking a corner quickly. If he could keep up this speed, he could make it just after the show started or maybe just before.

"Here's Ally now," his Mom said. "Let me take Tyler for you and Austin wants to talk to you."

"Austin?" Ally came on the phone, her voice still clouded from sleep. He thought she sounded wonderful.

"Hey, Ally," he started softly. "We have a slight problem. Mom's going to turn on and record Good Morning Miami for me and you might want to watch as well. Trish called me and told me they have pictures of us. Pictures of us at lunch on Saturday."

"Oh. My. God. Oh my God," Ally breathed. "That means they have pictures of us and Tyler, right?"

Austin nodded to himself, she was quick even when she had just woken up. "Yeah, they have pictures of us with Tyler. Trish said they e-mailed her and asked for a comment, but she is stalling them until after today's broadcast to give us a little time."

He heard Ally gasp. "Trish is stalling them? For us?" she asked, she sounded shocked.

"I know," he admitted. "That kind of surprised me, too. She usually makes a comment and then tells me what it was and I just have to deal with it, but she seems more invested in my feelings, in your feelings, today."

"Wow. Just wow," Ally said quietly. "I'm downstairs now and the show is about to come on."

Austin smiled as familiar street signs began to flash past. "I'm two minutes away," he said. "Please unlock the front door..."

"Already done," she said smugly. "That was the first thing I did. We're all in the kitchen, so just meet us in there. I'll see you soon."

"See you soon," Austin answered as he hung up the phone before driving the last couple of blocks to his parent's house.

He pulled his car in and ran into the house, slamming the door behind him. He cringed when he heard his mother say, "I swear that boy was not raised in a barn. He knows I hate it when he slams the door."

"Sorry, Mom," he said as he slid into the kitchen shaking off his jacket and removing the hat and sunglasses. "The door got away from me."

He smiled at her in a winningly and she shook her head at him. "Don't do it again," she warned. "We don't need this little man screaming because he's scared."

He looked over at his son, who was sitting up in a weird seat today. "What is that?" Austin asked.

Ally waved him down as the familiar music for Good Morning Miami blared out from the TV in the corner. Austin settled down into a chair and everyone in the room grew quiet so they could watch the show.

The two newscasters walked on the set and waved to the cameras and the small studio audience to the sound of applause.

"I'm Craig Fraser," the blonde haired man in a light gray suit said, as he unbuttoned his jacket and sat in one of the bright red chairs.

"And I'm Diane Diaz," the dark-haired woman said as she smoothed her tight black skirt and gray jacket to sit in the other red chair.

"And this is Good Morning Miami," they concluded together. They paused briefly as the studio audience applauded.

"This morning's show is going to be a good one..," Craig teased as he looked over at his co-host.

"Indeed," Diane answered, teasing back. "This weekend was a good one. Lots of stuff happening around town."

"And we're going to talk about all of it," Craig smiled as he faced the camera. "The first thing we have to talk about is big news here in Miami, big news. News of one of our own."

"Yes, Craig," Diane cut in smoothly. "A home town boy who made it big has returned, it seems. We've heard music from him for years, he's been out on a huge world tour for a year, but I wonder if we're going to get some answers from him this Friday when he appears right here on Good Morning Miami?"

"Yes, folks," Craig responded, not missing a beat. "Diane and I will be welcoming Austin Moon, the Austin Moon, to the studio on Friday. To talk about his recent tour and his continuing music career."

"And, more importantly, about what he was doing in Miami this last weekend, when he was supposed to be in California, in preparation for his move there."

Diane and Craig exchange gleeful looks while Ally snapped her gaze to Austin, who was completely focused on the TV. Ally returned her attention to the two perky co-hosts as they continued teasing the studio and at-home audiences with talk of pictures and speculations until they cut to the weather and then their first commercial.

"You're moving to California?" Ally asks him softly, as he turns his attention to her.

"No. No, I'm not," Austin says softly, well aware of the fact that his parents are in the room and listening closely. "I was supposed to, but that is one of the first things I had Trish do for me on Friday, tell them that a move to California was not possible. I need to be here."

She brings her brown eyes up to his and she searches for a hint of regret in his eyes, but doesn't find it. She slowly lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding and nods up at him.

"Don't worry he said, we'll get through this together," he assures her.

She nods again as the music comes up and again and the hosts start talking about the traffic around Miami. "Together," she agrees.

They focus back on the TV as the co-hosts start talking about Austin again.

"All reports had him in California, but we have found out the truth," Craig says gleefully, looking extremely happy to have gotten such a scoop.

"Oh, yes," Diane agrees, flipping her long hair back off her shoulders. "We have photos of Austin Moon around town, right here in Miami; looking at houses, having lunch and dinner with a lovely woman who looks an awful lot like his long-time song-writer Ally Dawson, and they were toting a baby around with them as well."

"What could possibly be going in the life of Austin Moon?" Craig asked craftily. "Let's look at some of these pictures shall we?"

On the giant screen behind them, a picture of Austin and Ally appeared. It was one of them in front of one of the houses they had decided against. They were talking quietly in the driveway and Austin was holding Tyler. The next one was one of the three of them looking up at the front of the house Austin had decided to buy, this time Ally was holding the baby.

"Damn," Austin said. "You can totally tell that's us."

The co-hosts agreed as they cackled over the pictures, asking rhetorical questions and speculating endlessly on what could be going on in the life of Austin Moon.

Ally nodded. "At least we know, those pictures weren't taken by the agent, she's in them."

Austin agreed but, he thought to himself, she could have called someone to follow them around.

The next few pictures were flashed across the screen quickly. They were all from the restaurant where they had eaten lunch. They looked like a young family with Ally feeding the baby while Austin held him. There were shots of Austin and Ally with their heads close together, talking quietly.

There was a shot of them as they left the lunch place with Austin pushing the stroller and Ally laughing up at him.

"Look how cute that is," Diane said, as she turned back to the studio audience. "What could Austin be doing with them? Is that Ally Dawson? And who is that child?"

"Well, we put in a call to Star Records and to Austin's manager, Trish de la Rosa this morning, but we haven't heard back from them yet," Craig smiled at his partner. "So we don't know what is going on with him, yet."

"But have no fear, Miami," Diane interjected. "We will get to the bottom of this. Questions will be asked on Friday when Austin is here."

"And those questions will be answered," Craig said. "You can be sure of that."

As the two co-hosts turned to other news in Miami, Austin and Ally took deep breaths and blew them out at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed quietly.

"What are we going to do, Austin?" she asked, looking a little lost.

He shook his head, "I don't know, but we will deal with this together. We have to figure it out soon, though, I am scheduled to go on that show on Friday."

Ally nodded, but before she could respond both of their phones started to ring. Trish was calling Austin again and Ally's phone call was from Star Records. They looked at each other and picked up their respective phones.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Phone calls had been made and answered. When they finally got off their phones, Austin and Ally had agreed to a meeting with Jimmy Star, Trish and probably at least one attorney at the studio in a couple of hours. Just enough time for Ally to finish feeding Tyler, shower and get dressed before they had to leave.

Austin was back on the phone with Trish, and he had borrowed his Dad's laptop to check out the photos that Trish had sent him. Good Morning Denver had only shown a small portion of the photos that they had acquired and he was getting angrier, the more he saw.

There were photos of him in the mall with Trish and Dez. Photos of him at dinner with Ally both outside and inside the restaurant; there were even photos of the two of them, sitting in his car in front of the house he was buying, making out.

"Trish," he spat quietly, knowing that Ally and Tyler were still in the kitchen with him. "How did they get all of these photos? No one even knew I was here. I am supposed to be in California until Wednesday, then I go in Thursday for rehearsal for the show on Friday."

"I know, I know," Trish attempted to soothe him. "I know, Austin. I have no idea how they found you. I think someone must have seen you at the airport. Or maybe when you got your rental car. Did you use your real name?"

"Of course I used my real name," he said bitterly. "You have to show ID and a credit card, you know. It's not like the hotel, where they accommodate a fake name and everything. I'm surprised that the paparazzi hasn't found out what hotel I'm at yet. At least, I didn't see any of them this morning, but I didn't go through the lobby either."

"I talked to the manager of the hotel this morning," Trish said. "And if they want to be considered for anything Star Records might need them for, they won't let it slip that you're staying there. Just keep a low profile and it should be fine."

Austin nodded as he rubbed a hand over his forehead. God, he could use something for this headache. He needed to get it under control before the meeting.

Ally tapped him on the shoulder and set a glass of water in front of him. She picked up his hand and set two Tylenol in it. He looked up at her in surprise. "Thanks," he said softly to her. She winked at him as she lifted Tyler out of his seat so she could take him in to Mimi.

"I'll go get ready," she said as she walked out of the room and he swallowed the medicine before turning his attention back to Trish.

"Trish, I'm going to let you go for now. Ally's going to jump through the shower and we will try to get a handle on this before we arrive at the meeting. Let me know if anything else comes up before then," he said resting his head on his hand.

"Will do , Austin," Trish answered before signing off.

He sighed as he placed his phone gently on the table. All he really wanted to do was throw it through he window and never see it again, but he knew that wouldn't help anything.

He looked up at the ceiling and wished he could go talk to Ally now, find out what she thought about all of this. Find out if she was angry with him. Again.

She hadn't seemed angry this morning, more like resigned, but he wouldn't know for sure until he talked to her. Hopefully she would be ready fast, so they had enough time to talk before the meeting.

…...

Austin and Ally were on their way to Star Records. Cruising along in Austin's car, together. He had won that argument. She hadn't wanted to make it obvious they were together, when she wasn't sure that they were together. She had started rambling and Austin did the only thing he could think of. He kissed her. Then he steered her out of the house and into his car before she could start up again.

They were enjoying the coffees they had brought with them and Ally turned to look at Austin. "What do you think we should do about all of this?" she questioned.

He flicked his eyes to hers for a moment before concentrating on his driving again. "I think we should have a press conference. Announce that Tyler is ours and that we are figuring things out, but would like to be left alone while we do that."

Ally's jaw dropped as she gaped at Austin in surprise. What the heck? She thought to herself. She wondered where he got all of his confidence from, and if she could get some for herself.

"What?" he asked. "Do you not want to make it public?"

She shook her head to clear it. "No. That's not it. I'm just surprised that you are prepared to speak out publicly about it. He is your son. Your name is on the birth certificate. All it takes is a phone call to the right employee of the hospital where I had him and that information will be easily acquired."

Austin nodded and glanced at her again. "I don't want to give out too much information, but I think things will be easier if all this speculation were to die down. If we give them answers now maybe the backlash won't be so bad."

Ally took a sip of her coffee and nodded to herself. She thought about the weekend they had spent together and the fact that she wanted to spend more time with him. His idea could work. "Okay," she finally answered. "Let's bring up the idea of a press conference at the meeting and see what everyone thinks."

He nodded back to her as they settled back to finish the drive.

…...

They arrived at Star Records and noticed a few paparazzi around the front entrance. Austin parked the car and arranged his hat and sunglasses as Ally tucked her hair up into a white sunhat and slipped white sunglasses on.

"Ready for this?" he asked. He turned to her in the car and reached over to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Ready."

They both stepped out of the car and began to head toward the entrance of the building. Luckily they made it into the building without too much trouble and Austin only had to spit out one "No comment."

The receptionist directed them to the elevator and once inside they removed their paltry disguises and laughed. "That wasn't so bad," Ally commented.

Austin agreed and they continued to laugh and talk on the ride upstairs. However, their good moods turned sour when they walked into the conference room. Jimmy Star, the head of the record label was standing at one end of the room talking to two dour looking men while Trish and another man were at the near end of the table. Everyone stopped talking as Austin ans Ally entered the room.

Austin stepped forward first, trying to protect Ally for as long as possible. "Hey, Trish. Hey, Jimmy."

Jimmy frowned over at him as Trish finished her conversation in a fast whisper. Ally walked up beside Austin and brushed her arm against his, wanting the contact but not wanting to disturb the people in the room any further.

Another man burst through the door looking a little wind blown. Austin turned and looked at him, he was dressed in a suit and tie like the other people in the room but his blue eyes lit up when he looked past Austin to Ally.

"Alls, sweetie," the new arrival said as he breezed into the room and hugged Ally.

Ally looked delighted with this turn of events and hugged him back. Austin took in the scene and frowned as the new guy draped an arm around Ally and led her away to the window as he whispered in her ear.

Ally was so glad to see him that she forgot about Austin momentarily. "Andrew, it's so good to see you. What are you doing here?"

"Did you think this meeting was going to happen without me?" Andrew asked. "Of course, they invited me. As your manager, it's my job to be here for you. Even if you have been doing things this weekend that you haven't told me about."

Ally swallowed hard and looked over her shoulder at Austin, who was looking quite put out by this situation. In fact, Austin looked as if he was about to storm over and demand that she tell him what was going on. She shook her head at him and smiled holding up a hand to stop him.

Austin pursed his lips and moved toward Trish, leaving Ally alone with the guy he didn't know for now. He couldn't just rush over and hit the guy because he was jealous. He needed to show Ally he was an adult and that he could behave accordingly.

Ally turned back to her manager and removed his arm from around her shoulders. "Andrew, I'm sorry if you think I should have called you, but there were things going on this weekend that I had to deal with. Alone. And don't call me Alls, you know I don't like it."

He frowned at her, she had never pushed him away like that before. And he knew that Austin was the only one allowed to call her Alls, he just couldn't help himself sometimes. He had thought their business relationship was becoming something more. "Ally," he said seriously. "I thought I was your friend, too. I just think you should have brought me up to date when you started going out with him and he was allowing you to be photographed."

Ally frowned at him but couldn't answer as Jimmy was calling the meeting to order. She walked over to the table and slid into a seat next to Austin who immediately reached out a hand for hers. She placed her hand in his and locked eyes with him for a moment, remembering their promise of 'together,' before they turned as one and faced the rest of the table.

Jimmy introduced the two men next to him one as an attorney for the record label and the other as a publicist. Trish introduced the man next to her as an attorney as well. Austin recognized him, Trish had introduced them before. Then Ally introduced her manager Andrew.

Austin relaxed when he realized that the new guy was just her manager, but when he saw the way Andrew was looking at Ally, Austin tightened his grip on her hand for a moment. Ally smiled up at him as she felt him squeeze her hand.

"Austin, Ally," Jimmy spoke up. "I am glad to see that some things have been resolved between you. I assume that Ally told you who the father of her child is."

Ally blushed and looked down at her lap as Austin looked down at her before looking back at Jimmy. "Yes, she told me," he said. "And we think we have a plan that will help all the craziness die down a little."

Jimmy didn't look surprised at the exchange between Austin and Ally or what Austin said, but Andrew did. He started to lean in to whisper in Ally's ear but he stopped as Austin began to speak again.

"We think we should have a press conference as soon as possible and make the announcement that Tyler is my son and that we just need some time to figure everything else out. We think that it might make the paparazzi give us a break or, at the very least, keep Tyler out of the spotlight."

Jimmy nodded and exchanged glances with the men on either side of him. "We had the same thought. But maybe instead of a press conference, we issue a statement from the two of you about Tyler's parentage and promise that you will _both_ be on Good Morning Miami at the end of the week. We can get a list of questions from them and approve them so you will be prepared and you two can perform a song together."

Austin looked at Ally who had tilted her face to look up at him. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Would you be okay with that?"

"I think that would do the trick, but I won't bring Tyler, even if Jimmy asks me to," she whispered back.

"I don't think he would ask that, but I'll mention it. Let's do it," he whispered back, pulling back slightly so he could see her face. She smiled up at him and nodded.

"Okay, Jimmy," he said. "We will do it your way, but we both get to approve the wording of the press release and we don't want our son to be there on Friday."

"Of course, you can both have final approval of the press release," Jimmy answered, looking down the table at them. "I hope you both know, I would never want to abuse our relationship by asking you to do something I know you don't want to. I would never ask you to bring Tyler with you on Friday."

Ally smiled at Jimmy as Austin nodded. "We know that you would never ask us to do that, but we have to make sure and do the right thing for our son. It's better to be safe than sorry."

As the big meeting broke up, Trish pulled Austin aside just as Andrew pulled Ally away from the table. "Look Austin, I'll take our lawyer and go meet with Jimmy's press guy. I'll text you the copy of the press release. You need to watch the slimy little guy who just pulled Ally out of here."

Austin frowned down at his manager. "Why? I trust Ally."

Trish shook her head and pulled Austin a little closer to her and their attorney, Mike. "I've heard he gets a little 'attached' to his clients, and not in a good way."

Mike nodded at Austin and said, "Trusting Ally is one thing, trusting that man is another matter. I work with him sometimes and he's a little sleaze."

Austin nodded at them and hurried to follow Ally out of the room.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews, I appreciate them.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Austin & Ally.**

Chapter 16

Ally was getting a little worried. Her manager, Andrew, had pulled her from one conference room into another and shut the door. He began pacing around the table and talking very quickly. "Ally, honey, I'm not sure what's going on here. Why didn't you ever tell me that Austin Moon was the father of your child? I think you have some explaining to do."

Ally watched him pace around the room and she wondered at his behavior. She thought carefully before she spoke, "Andrew, I just assumed that you knew that Austin was the father. We were dating before he left to go on tour. Dating very publicly. Who else could it have been?"

Andrew turned to her angrily. "Well, I don't know who it could have been. It could have been anyone, for all I know."

Ally was taken aback. Did he really suggest that she had slept around with just anyone? She could hardly form words to answer him and she began to slowly make her way back to the door.

He kept speaking as he stalked around the table. "And when were you planning on telling me that you were dating him again? I thought we were becoming something, something more than colleagues. When were you going to break things off with me so you could be free to date him."

Now Ally was definitely getting worried. "Andrew," she said softly. "We are not dating, you are just my manager and a friend. And I wasn't aware that I had to let you know that I was seeing Austin again, frankly I don't see how it's any of your business."

"Not my business?" he spat turning his angry blue eyes on her. As Andrew saw the look on Ally's face, he realized that he was freaking her out and tried to pull his emotions back a little. "Look, I'm sorry, but I really wanted to ask you out, I've just been too shy."

Ally started to soften, but she was still uncomfortable with this turn of events. "I'm sorry, too. But, Austin has returned and we are trying really hard to work things out for Tyler. I need some time to get a handle on all of this."

Just then the door swung inward and Austin strolled in. "Alls," he said sliding his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. "There you are. I was looking for you. Trish is working with Mike and Jimmy's publicist on the press release. We should go meet them."

"I am talking to my client," Andrew spit out. He was getting angry again, things were not going the way he wanted them too.

Austin smiled at Andrew while still keeping Ally tucked securely under his arm. "Sorry, but we have to go deal with the press release and Trish is already working on it. So we'll just catch up with you later."

Ally stepped forward slightly as Austin kept a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Andrew, I know we've been working together for about 6 months now and we need to review our contract, but I think it would be better if Austin and I had the same manager for now. I'll have my attorney contact you about dissolving our contract."

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa," Andrew said finally realizing that he had crossed the line with his client. He began to cross the room toward her. "Ally, I don't want to stop working with you..."

She help up her hand and waved him back. "I'm sorry, I just don't think this is the right fit for me right now. I think that one manager for both Austin and I would work better at this time."

She turned and walked out of the room headed back to meet Trish in the other conference room.

Austin stayed behind for a minute, his eyes narrowed and he smiled coldly at Andrew. "If you don't realize it now, that was her firing you. And I'm warning you now, stay away from her. I can assure you, I won't be as nice as she was if you bother her again."

"She'll come back, when you abandon her again. Then she'll be all mine." Andrew stated smugly as he smirked at Austin. But his smirk turned into a frown as Austin's smile grew larger.

Austin laughed under his breath. "Don't waste your time. I'm not planning on going anywhere, at least not without Ally and our son." With that he turned on his heel and walked out, leaving Andrew alone.

…...

Austin shook off the bad mood as he wandered back into the conference room to meet Ally. It looked like she had already recovered as she sat there smiling with Trish.

"Guess who has a new client?" Trish asked him as he sat in the chair next to Ally.

Austin laughed. "Hmm. I guess...you?"

Trish nodded and looked happier than Austin had seen her recently. "Yep. Ally's going to be my client as soon as she dissolves her contract with crazy out there."

"Trish," chastised Ally. "He's really not that bad, when he can keep a professional distance that is, and I didn't have much of a choice at the time." They were starting to fall back into their old patterns even though they both knew they had a long way to go in rebuilding their friendship.

Trish cocked her head at Ally. "Too soon?" she asked and the three old friends burst out laughing.

…...

Once the wording of the press release was approved by Austin and Ally, they were free to leave the studio. They escaped through the front door and had no trouble with the paparazzi, who were busy getting the press release inside the studio.

They were halfway home before Austin asked a question that had been weighing on him. "So... you didn't have anything going with that Andrew guy, did you?"

Ally smiled at Austin as she reached her hand over to rest it on his thigh. "No, I did not," she answered. "Sometimes we would go to the movies together if Dez wasn't available, but we did not have anything between us except a professional relationship."

Austin was having trouble focusing on her words and his driving at he same time, because the hand that Ally had rested on his thigh was busy rubbing circles over it. She was moving her hand higher and higher and Austin had to do something about it before he wrecked the car.

He grabbed her hand, lifted it to his mouth and kissed the back of it softly. "Stop distracting me," he told her as he placed her hand back on his thigh.

She smiled up at him. "But it's so much fun to distract you." Her fingers began ghosting along his leg again, making him squirm in his seat.

"You know," he said as he pulled to a stop at a red light. "My hotel is on the way to my parents house. If you're not careful, we might be making a pit stop there."

She laughed softly as her fingers stilled. She looked over at him and he snagged a hand into the hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her in for a brief kiss. "We have to get back to Tyler soon," she said softly. "He needs to nurse again."

Austin groaned as he released her and began driving again. "You're going to kill me, you know that?"

She just smiled at him as her fingers began to move over his leg again.

…...

Later that evening, they took Tyler up to bed together. Ally watched as Austin placed their son gently into his crib. He bent down and rubbed his fingers gently over Tyler's head.

"Now you sleep good tonight, little man," Austin whispered. "Mommy's had a long day."

She laughed softly as she shut the door and then went to lie down on the bed. Austin turned and saw her there in the light of the moon shining through the window. Her eyes sparkled and there was a blush gracing her cheeks.

He looked over his shoulder and noticed the closed door and slowly swung his head back around to look at Ally. Beautiful Ally. He walked over to the bed, his old bed, and he made himself comfortable next to her.

They lay there, together but not touching, side by side on the bed. He reached out a hand and entwined it with hers. Her breath started to speed up a little as he pulled her toward him.

They rolled over onto their sides facing each other and looked deep into each others eyes. Chocolate met hazel, and they fell again. Both remembering the last time they had been on this bed together, both wanting that time back.

He lifted a hand and ran his fingers over her face. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feeling his fingers were creating as they traced a line over her eyes, down her nose to her run over her lips. Her lips parted and he felt her breath quicken again.

He slipped his hand around to the nape of her neck, cradling her head in his large hand before pulling her in and meeting her aching lips with his. He barely brushed her lips with his. Once. Twice. Then he pulled her closer and crashed his lips into hers.

She whimpered into his mouth as she parted her lips and his tongue met hers halfway. Their tongues continued to dance and struggle for dominance.

He rolled them slightly, so he was resting his weight on her and pushing her down onto the mattress. He wanted to feel her under him, even if for just a moment. He ghosted his fingertips down her neck again and followed them with his mouth to her collarbone where he began to suck lightly making Ally moan.

She pushed at him until he rolled onto his back, pulling her with him, not wanting the contact to end. She slid a leg between his as she brought her mouth back to his. He slid one hand deeper into her hair securing her hot mouth to his and slid the other slowly, ever so slowly, down her back to rest lightly on the curve of her buttocks.

She moaned again, deep into his mouth before tearing her mouth away and gasping for breath. "Austin," she whispered into his ear before gently tugging his earlobe into her mouth and sucking lightly.

She began to kiss her way down the side of his neck and felt him grow harder beneath her leg, as she softly grazed him. This time it was Austin's turn to moan. He grabbed her hips with both hands and hitched her higher onto him. She returned her mouth to his and this time she was the one running her tongue over his lips and demanding entrance, which he gladly gave.

He slid one hand back to the nape of her neck holding her steady while his other hand crept around the back of her thigh and pulled her skirt higher and higher. He groaned into her mouth when her leg brushed across his manhood again. She was driving him crazy doing that.

Suddenly, there was a tap at the door. "The news is coming on, if you want to watch," Mike called, wisely not opening the door.

Austin pulled his mouth from Ally's and panted hard for a moment before answering his father. "We'll be down in a minute, Dad."

They heard his father turn and head for the step as they both struggled for breath. "Wow, Ally," he half-whispered in her ear causing her to shiver against him. "We should do this sometime when my parents aren't passing by, or aren't in the house at all."

She nodded her head against him as she slid down off of him. "Maybe we should. Maybe you should take me out to dinner again and then you can show me your hotel room."

Austin had started to sit up, but paused to look at her. "When are you available?" he asked quietly. "Because I'm available whenever you are. You just say the word."

She smiled slowly at him as she walked around the bed to where he was sitting. He parted his legs so she could stand close to him and she cupped his face in her hands, leaning down to press her lips to his. "How does tomorrow night sound? I'm sure my sitter's will be available," she breathed.

Austin eyes lit up as he pulled her down for another brief kiss. "Tomorrow it is. I'll pick you up at 6:30."

…...

They readjusted their clothes and Ally tried to smooth down her hair as they made their way to the living room. Austin didn't help by playing with the ends of her hair all the way downstairs, which had her slapping playfully at him when they walked in to the news starting.

The story about Austin was brought up near the end of the news and it was just quietly mentioned that Austin Moon had returned home from his world tour and was with his old love Ally Dawson again. They were searching for a house to move their young family into. It wasn't treated as a big story at all.

They would have to see what happened in the morning, but it seemed that the plan was working. After speaking to Austin and Ally briefly about watching Tyler the next night, his parents excused themselves to go to bed.

"I'll miss this built-in baby sitting," Ally said quietly as his parents retired upstairs.

"What do you mean you'll miss it?" Austin asked as he began wrapping her long dark hair around his hand and gently tugging her closer.

She smiled up at him, her dark eyes shining. "When we move in with you, Mike and Mimi won't be there, in the same house, anymore. We'll have to ask them to come to our place or bring Tyler here."

Austin froze and swallowed hard, not sure if he had heard her correctly. "You and Tyler are going to move in with me?"

Her smile grew wider. "Oh, yes. I'm sure of it. Besides that house is too big for you to live in all by yourself. Is it alright? For us to move in with you? I know we haven't really talked about it since the other night. But you did say..."

Austin cut off Ally's rambling by pulling her in for a searing kiss. Ally slid happily into the kiss with Austin knowing that she had made the right decision. They would be moving in together soon and they were well on their way to becoming a family.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: I really appreciate the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Austin and Ally or anything else you might recognize, like Red by Taylor Swift or any One Direction songs.**

Chapter 17

It was still dark when Ally rolled over in bed to look at her clock. Oh my God, she thought to herself as she threw the covers off and started to get out of bed to retrieve her crying son. "Seriously, Tyler," she said softly reaching into the crib for him. "You couldn't give me another hour, we have to wake up at 5:30 now?"

She bounced him gently to soothe him as she walked over to the changing table. He looked up at her and she looked down at him and felt her heart burst with love for this little guy.

About half an hour later after she fed him and he went back to sleep, of course, she let herself into the guest room across the hall. Shortly after she had moved in, the Moon's had set this up as a kind of practice room/teaching space for her. She set the baby monitor down and sat down to the piano.

She started playing a song she had written about six months ago, when she was sad and angry and afraid. Feeling so many things that she thought she would burn from the inside out if she didn't get some of them out of her and into music, which had always been her outlet.

…...

Austin was still shaking the sleep off him as he climbed the stairs to see of Ally and Tyler were up yet. He had come early again to watch Good Morning Miami with them, but no one was downstairs yet. As he crested the stairs he heard the tinkling of a piano coming from the guest room so he slowly opened the door, leaned into the doorway and shamelessly listened to Ally sing.

…...

(Red by Taylor Swift)

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street  
Faster than the wind, passionate as sin ending so suddenly  
Loving him is like trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall  
Like the colors in autumn, so bright just before they lose it all

Losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark gray all along  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
But loving him was red  
Loving him was red

Touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you  
Memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song  
Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer  
Regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong

Losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark gray all along  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
But loving him was red  
Oh, red  
Burning red

Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes  
Tell myself it's time now, gotta let go  
But moving on from him is impossible  
When I still see it all in my head  
Burning red  
Loving him was red

Oh, losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark gray all along  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
'Cause loving him was red  
Yeah, yeah, red  
We're burning red

And that's why he's spinnin' 'round in my head  
Comes back to me, burning red  
Yeah, yeah

His love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street

…...

As Austin listened to Ally sing her song, his heart felt like it was being torn in two. On the one hand, he was so proud of her for putting herself out there and singing about her feelings. On the other hand, this song cut him to the quick.

He was hearing all of these feelings pour out of her and he knew he was the cause of all this pain. He was the one who had turned his back and hurt her. He was the one who had walked away. All he wanted to do now was make it right.

As she finished her song, he began to clap softly. He watched her jump and turn so fast that she almost spun right off the piano bench.

"Austin," she said, obviously flustered. "How long have you been standing there?"

He shook his head and looked at the floor guiltily, before taking a deep breath and looking into her dark eyes. "I heard the whole thing," he said quietly, afraid that his voice would break.

She teared up and he hurried across the room to join her on the bench and take her in his arms. She cried into his chest as he ran his hand up and down her back. "Ally," he whispered, as he tried to hold his own tears back. "Please don't cry. I'm so sorry, so very sorry for leaving you. I never wanted to... I never meant to hurt you. I know I did. I know I did, but I would do anything to take that pain away from you. What can I do?"

She tried to stop the flood of tears coating her cheeks and soaking his shirt, but it seemed impossible. Ally had never meant for him to hear that song, even though she had really wanted him to. She shook her head against him and fist-ed her hands into his shirt as she continued to sob.

Austin's breath hitched as he valiantly struggled to hold back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. "Please, Alls. I'll do anything you want me to, anything to make this up to you."

He tilted his head down to rest on hers and let his eyes slide shut, as he finally allowed himself to cry into her hair. They sat there. Crying. Broken. Hurting. Feeling the other one cry against them, not knowing what do to make it right, not knowing how to stop. So they gave up. They gave in and let the sadness and the anger and the fear and the pain flow through them. Through them and out of them.

The tears were needed to let all of the pent up emotions out, so they could finally heal.

…...

Mimi Moon struggled to hold her own tears back as she stopped and watched the young couple in her guest room. She sighed deeply feeling the pain swirling in the room. She had been waiting for this to happen, wanting this to happen, knowing this had to happen. They had to break down all the barriers between them so they could finally find a place to build on.

She smiled softly to herself as she headed downstairs to record the show she didn't think they would make it down to watch.

…...

The tears stopped flowing but Austin and Ally clung together for several more minutes. Holding on to each other for just a little longer. They finally pulled apart and Ally reached for a tissue and handed one to Austin.

She laughed shakily and turned her still watery eyes up towards his. "I don't think I have ever seen you cry before."

He smiled down at her as he dried his face. "Well, there were a couple of times that I could have. I almost cried when I thought you were going away to MUNY. I did cry the last night we spent together before I left to go on tour, but I hid it from you because I was... stupid I guess. I thought you wouldn't look at me that same way if you knew I was sad to leave you."

She shook her head and chuckled again. "It would have been nice to know. To know that you would miss me."

He cupped her face in his hands and gently kissed her lips. "I missed you so much. More than I thought it would be possible to miss someone. I am never, ever going to leave for so long again. I am never, ever going to give up on something I want so much. I promise you that I am not going to shy away from the difficult things anymore. I am going to work hard to earn back your trust. To earn back your love."

She smiled up and him as her eyes sparkled in the early morning light. "You can't earn back my love," she began, pausing for a moment to make sure he was listening to her. His face began to crumple so she hurried to get the rest out of her mouth. "Austin, you can't earn back my love because you never lost it. I loved you then. I love you now. My love for you never went away, even though there were days when it would have been easier if it had."

She watched his face light up with joy. It was an amazing sight to her, she hadn't seen it in so long. She raised her lips to his and let him kiss her breathless.

He pulled back and panted for air. "Ally, I love you," he breathed and watched her face shine.

He leaned back down to kiss her again, but the baby started to cry across the hall and she pulled back. "Let me go get him and set him up in his playpen, then we can get to work on the new song for Good Morning Miami."

He shook his head at her and stood up, "No. Let me get him."

…...

After Tyler had been settled with some toys in his playpen Austin and Ally started playing with some ideas for a new song.

"Ally," Austin said as he sat on the piano bench again. "I think you should sing that song on the show Friday."

Ally froze. Her mind went blank as she turned slowly to face Austin. "What?" she choked out.

He nodded his head at her. "I really think you should sing that song on Friday. I was talking to Jimmy last night, and he suggested that we each sing a new song and then we sing one together. It might help keep the pressure off of us answering impudent questions, which you know they are going to ask even if they are not on the approved list.

She fully intended to say no, but Austin was making a good point. The more songs they prepared, they less questions the hosts could ask. She tilted her head to one side as she considered all the possibilities. "Don't you think that song will make them ask more questions about us?"

Austin sighed, "Well, maybe. If we explain right before you sing it, that you wrote it while we were apart, I think they might let the song speak for itself."

"Possibly," she mused, twisting her mouth into a pout. "Okay, I'll sing it, but you have answer any questions about it."

"Okay," Austin agreed. "I will."

Ally tilted her head to the other shoulder and looked up at him from under her long eyelashes. "What song do you want to sing?" she questioned.

"Wellll," he drawled turning away from her. "I think I should sing a song I wrote about you right before I came home. It's called It's Gotta Be You," he stated.

She furrowed her eyebrows together. "You wrote a song about me? It's Gotta Be You?"

He nodded and he turned to face her again. "I was feeling sad and angry with myself about how I had treated you and I thought you had probably already moved on but the only girl I wanted was you.

Her breath hitched at the intense look in his eyes. She could see how important this was to him and she didn't see a problem with it. She nodded her agreement and Austin smiled wide.

"Do I get to hear this song before Friday?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Austin said. "I forgot to mention that Jimmy has booked studio time for us tomorrow and Thursday so we can prepare our songs and my band can get ready to play them with us on the show on Friday."

"Really?" Ally queried in surprise. "That sounds great. I will have to call the daycare and see if they can take Tyler a couple of days this week. They weren't expecting him until next week."

"Jimmy said everything was being arranged, but when I talk to him later I will make sure that has been done, so don't worry about it."

Ally shook her head at Austin and chuckled. He was really making an effort with all of this parenting stuff. She picked up her songbook and started flipping through pages.

"Now we just need to figure out a song for the both of us to sing." she sighed. "To be honest I have an idea I was tossing around, but I don't know how you're going to feel about it. It's kind of angsty."

He shrugged, "Well, our lives have been kind of angsty lately. Let's hear what you got."


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: Thank you all for the great reviews. I really appreciate them!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Austin & Ally, or anything else you might recognize.**

Chapter 18

After working for several hours on their new song, Austin and Ally finally came up for air when Tyler started fussing again. Ally looked at her watch and sucked in a breath. "Oh my gosh, I'm supposed to meet Trish for lunch and it's 11:30 already. I need to text her," she declared as she hurried out of the room frantically, leaving Austin to deal with the crying child.

He walked over to the playpen and smiled down at his son, who was obviously tired of waiting for attention and screaming at the top of his lungs. Austin leaned over and scooped him up. He began bouncing him gently in attempt to soothe Tyler. He could hardly believe that one week ago, he had no idea how to do this.

They walked across the hall into Ally's room and Austin crossed to the changing table where he set Tyler down and started to change him.

Ally walked out of her bathroom after quickly splashing some water on her face and stopped cold in the doorway. She watched as Austin got a fresh diaper out and rapidly changed Tyler. He picked up his son again, who was still crying very loudly, and tucked him against his shoulder, patting his bottom rhythmically to try to get him to calm down.

"Hey, little man," Austin said softly. "It really can't be that bad, can it? I mean, I know you're probably hungry and all, but you already let us know. We're on it. I think Mommy's going to come and feed you any minute. And if she doesn't, we'll go downstairs and ask grandma to help us."

Ally was surprised to notice that Tyler was actually settling down, his screaming was not so much screaming now, but just crying. Usually, when Tyler got this way, the only thing that would settle him down was for Ally to nurse him. Or for someone else to play one of Austin's songs. Obviously, her son loved Austin's voice, and I mean really, could she blame him?

She crossed over to the two men in her life and tapped Austin on the shoulder. Austin spun around and smiled down at her. "See, Buddy. I told you Mommy would come."

Ally smiled up at Austin as she reached for the baby. She settled into her rocker with him and started nursing him.

Austin sat down on the edge of the bed as Ally's phone went off.

"Can you see if that is Trish returning my text, please?" she asked as she adjusted Tyler in her arms.

Austin picked up her phone and opened it to see Trish's text. "Trish says she can meet you at one, so you have plenty of time. Do you want me to text her back for you?"

"Thanks," Ally said. "That would be helpful."

He finished the text and set her phone down on the bed beside him. His mind went over and over the events of the morning, the song she had sung and the one they were working on both affected him. They were so close to the surface for both of them. He looked up at her and watched his son.

Ally wondered what was going on in that head of his. Austin was definitely thinking about something that was bothering him. He always got really quiet and still when he had something to work over in his head. She wondered if he was going to talk to her about it, or if he need to think about it some more.

He took a deep breath and asked a question that took her by surprise. "Does that hurt?"

She looked up at him quickly, drawing her eyebrows together in confusion. "Does what hurt?" she replied.

He lifted a hand and waved it back and forth in front of her and Tyler. "That. Him nursing. It looks like it would hurt."

She smiled down at Tyler, who was sucking his lunch down as fast as he could get it. "No," she said softly, raising her eyes again to look at Austin. "No, it doesn't hurt. It was weird and uncomfortable at first, but it really is the best thing for them, babies I mean."

Austin nodded and looked guilty for a moment again as he looked away. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when he was born. I really wish I had been."

He reached out and grazed his fingers over Tyler head. "I wish my parents had told me what was going on. I wish I hadn't been so stupid. I wish I had answered your calls. I wish I had found the courage to call you. I wish..."

He rested his hand on Tyler's head and looked into Ally's dark eyes. She nodded in understanding and said, "I wish you had been here, too. It wasn't very fun at all, your mom and my mom tried to make it a good day. And it was, because I got to hold Tyler finally, but it would have been nice to share that moment with you. To have been able to yell at you during labor and have you hold me when it was all too much."

"Well," he said, with his eyes full of promises. "I'll be there next time."

Her breath caught in her throat and she blinked at him rapidly. "Next time?" she asked breathlessly. "Are we going to do this again?"

"Of course," Austin smiled, looking down at heir son. "Not today, or anything, but one day we'll make sure Tyler has a little brother or sister, right?"

Looking in Austin's eyes and seeing all the promises shining there almost left her speechless. "Sure," Ally answered. "One day."

…...

Ally breezed into the restaurant where she was meeting Trish, pushing the stroller ahead of her. She looked around and saw that, strangely, Trish was already here. She was sitting at a table with the attorney she had been with yesterday, Mike. Ally worked her way to their table and smiled down at them.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm a little late," she said trying to catch her breath from hurrying across the parking lot.

Trish smiled up at her, "No worries. You probably thought you still had time, 'cause I used to always be late everywhere. For everything."

Ally laughed lightly, "The thought did cross my mind." She pulled out one of the empty chairs and sighed as she collapsed into it. "Austin and I were working on a new song for the show on Friday and we kind of lost track of time."

Trish and Mike exchanged a glance that Ally couldn't quite figure out, but she shook it off as he slid some papers in front of her. "These are the contracts, well the dissolution of one contract and then the contract between you and Trish. They are standard, but if you want someone else to go over them, let me know who I need to send them to."

Ally shook her head at Mike finally taking in his appearance. He was Latino, not much taller than she was with dark hair and pleasant eyes. She smiled at him and replied, "No, that's not necessary, Austin gave you a very good review, but I would like to have you go over them with me quickly before I sign them."

Trish excused herself to go to the ladies room while Mike touched on all the high points of the contracts. All in all, Ally was satisfied with them so she signed them and handed them back to Mike. When Trish returned, she left Ally alone for a few more minutes as she walked Mike out.

Ally was waiting for her with a huge grin on her face. "Walked him out?" she questioned with one eyebrow raised expectantly.

Trish flushed and looked at the table for a moment before laughing at Ally. "Yeah, We are kind of trying to see each other."

Ally laughed as well as she mocked Trish, "Kind of? Trying? Looked like you were doing a pretty good job of it to me."

Trish shook her dark curly hair back off her shoulders and smiled. "Okay, okay. We've been talking on the phone for a while now, trying to iron out Austin's new contract and then he just started talking to me about non-work related stuff," she shrugged. "I never even saw him until Friday afternoon. It's been a weird weekend."

Ally scoffed and almost spit out the water she had taken a huge drink of. She took a minute to stop laughing. "A weird weekend? You think?" she asked.

The two burst into laughter again eliciting strange looks from the other patrons of the restaurant.

They calmed down enough to order lunch and as the waitress walked away Trish turned her head towards Ally and asked, "Are we going to be okay?"

Ally frowned and sighed, playing with her silverware before answering. "I don't know. I think so, but I'm still angry with you. Doesn't mean I don't love you, you're still my best friend. We've known each other since we were in kindergarten. That's a lot of time and memories that I'm not ready to let go."

Trish nodded and took a sip of her iced tea. "Okay, I'll try to stop being so impatient, but it's hard."

"Thanks," Ally said softly. "I think we just keep trying and working and we'll get there. Just like Austin and I."

Trish quirked a brow at Ally, "Oh yeah? Things are going well then?"

It was Ally's turn to blush as she looked down at the table again before raising her gaze to Trish. "Yeah, things are going really well. We are going out tonight and I think we're going to go back to his hotel after."

Trish frowned as she tried to find the right words. "Are you sure you're ready for that?" she asked. "Isn't it kind of soon?"

Ally shrugged and glanced at her sleeping son for a moment before answering. "I don't know," she shrugged. "It feels like we're right back where we were, if that makes any sense at all. That the year-long separation doesn't even exist now. I'm trying really hard to give him the benefit of the doubt when he says he'll never abandon us again."

She took a deep breath and continued. "He asked us to move in with him and I said yes."

Trish laughed and shook her head. "You two are crazy," she chuckled. "Picking right up where you left off from. But I do know he didn't even look at any other girls while we were out on tour."

Ally froze, she and Austin had never talked about whether or not there was anyone else while he was gone. She fiddled with the silverware again as their waitress brought their salads and grated cheese over them. Ally took a bite before looking at Trish and saying, "Really? I always thought that was kind of the point of not talking to me."

Trish sadly shook her head. "No, the tour, you know. It was really hard and he was pushed to his limit with the traveling and all the rehearsal time and he was working on a new album the whole time as well. He was working so hard for the first, I'd say, two-thirds of the tour that he hardly lifted his head to see where we were much lees if there were any pretty girls around."

"He did some really great work, some great songs came out of that time," she continued. "But then he started to realize what he had done, what we had done. And he just became focused on finishing the tour and getting back here, back to you."

"But, I thought?" Ally asked, trying hard to digest everything Trish had just told her. "I thought he was supposed to move to California."

Trish nodded and pushed her salad around. "That wasn't really his idea. He thought, we both thought, that you had probably moved on. We didn't know what was going on here. His parents weren't talking to him about you, and when I tried your mom in Africa once, she hung up on me. I just thought it was time for a change."

Ally frowned at her friend and stopped eating, pushing her plate away. "It was your idea?"

Her Latina friend looked guiltily at her. "Yes. It was. But he didn't want to do it without first finding out how you were. That's why he came here on Thursday instead of going to California. He wanted to see his parents and see if they had any information about how to get a hold of you, Since neither of your parents were answering his calls."

Ally's heart was racing again, she was finding it hard to keep her composure and breathe. "Seriously?" she asked. "That's why he was here in Miami? For me?"

"You always sound so surprised that he wants to be with you? Why is it so hard to believe that he wants you?" Trish asked, truly wanting to know why Ally thought she wasn't good enough for him.

Ally shrugged as she thought about that. "I have no idea. I guess I don't see myself the same way he sees me. He always seems to go for these really attractive, beautiful girls with so much going for them, that I don't see why he wants to be with me."

Trish smiled at her friend and wished, not for the first time, that she was more confident. "But don't you see, Ally. You just described yourself. You are attractive. You are beautiful. You have so much going for you. You are special. You are a brilliant song-writer. You are an amazing friend. And, I bet, you are a wonderful mother."

"Thanks, Trish," Ally said wiping the lone tear tracking down her cheek away. "You always know exactly the right thing to say to me. I'll try to do better seeing myself like you see me."

"And how Austin sees you. Don't argue with me," Trish said holding up her hands to prevent Ally from interrupting her. "I know he sees you that way, and he sees so much more. He loves you, but if you don't believe me, you'll just have to ask him. I'm sure he'll tell you how he sees you and what he feels for you. It will be up to you to listen to him and believe him."


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. I really, really appreciate them.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally or anything else you might recognize. I do not own Gotta Be You by One Direction.  
**

Chapter 19

Ally was on pins and needles as she fed Tyler before Austin arrived that evening. She wondered at the fact that she didn't just fly apart at the seams with the amount of nervous energy flowing through her right now. She looked at the clock, for the umpteenth time in the last half hour, wanting 6:30 to be here now.

She finished feeding her son, and wiped his face with a clean cloth. She took him out of his bouncy seat and walked into the living room.

Mike and Mimi were both in the there; Mike in his chair with his shoes off and his feet up watching TV, and Mimi on the couch flipping through a magazine.

"Hey, here's Tyler," Ally said walking over to hand him to Mimi who practically threw her magazine over her shoulder in excitement. "Thank you again for watching him tonight."

Mimi snuggled her grandson close to her and beamed up at Ally. "Don't you worry about a thing. I'm not planning on going into the store in the morning, so we will be fine."

"Well, Austin and I are supposed to be in the studio by ten tomorrow morning so I won't be gone all morning," Ally said flushing, flicking her gaze to Mike and not wanting to talk about staying out all night with his son in front of him.

Mimi chuckled softly at the look on Ally's face. "Don't worry about him. He knows where babies come from, so he has some idea of what you and Austin have been up to and are probably going to get up to again, but he'll do his best to ignore it."

"I can't ignore it if you're going to talk about it right in front of me," Mike interjected not moving his gaze from the TV.

"Well," Ally said moving her arms awkwardly, she was completely flustered now. "I need to run upstairs and change quickly. Austin should be here any minute." She fled up the stairs as Mike and Mimi both started to laugh.

"You're so mean, Mimi," he scolded. "She's so shy, you don't need to wind her up over spending the night with our son, which she's obviously done before." He nodded his head toward his grandson, who was wriggling in Mimi's grasp.

"I can't seem to help myself," Mimi giggled. "I think it's sweet, how she doesn't want us to know what they're going to do tonight, when it's so obvious. I will try not to embarrass her anymore tonight, though."

"Please tell me you're not telling Ally any embarrassing stories about me, Mom," Austin moaned from the doorway.

Both Mike and Mimi jumped a little, still not used to their son being back and appearing out of nowhere whenever he wanted.

"Your mother wasn't telling stories about you, have no fear, son,"Mike said sitting up in his chair and turning to face the doorway. "She was teasing Ally about the fact that she's going to be out all night with you."

Austin's face lit up. "She is?" he squeaked before the meaning his father's words sunk into his brain. Then he groaned. "Mom, stop."

Mimi smiled at her grandson before turning her beaming face to her son. "I will, I already said I would, but you be careful tonight," she scolded.

Austin flushed and looked away from her. "We will be," he promised. "I will be."

"You will be what?" Ally asked as she appeared beside him.

Austin jumped and shrieked like a girl. Ally smiled, "Well, it's nice to know some things don't change."

Austin rolled his eyes at her before reaching for her hand and entwining their fingers. "Hey," he said. "You ready to go?"

She nodded up at him, her face shining. "Yeah, just let me say good-bye to Tyler and then we can go."

Mimi brought the baby over to let Ally kiss and hug him. "Little man, you be good for Grandma. I will see you in the morning. I love you so very, very much," she whispered against his head.

Austin leaned over and kissed his son on his head before looking at Ally's watery eyes. "You okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded and handed the baby wordlessly back to Mimi who looked at Ally compassionately. "Ally, I promise I will take good care of him."

She nodded sadly as Austin wrapped an arm around her waist and began to steer her out of the house. "You sure, you're okay?" he asked again as they made their way to the front door. He saw her bag at the foot of the stairs and snagged it on their way out.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Yes," she responded. "I've just never been away from him for this long before. I'm going to miss him."

Austin hesitated and started rearranging plans in his head. "Are you sure you want to sty with me tonight?" he asked concerned. He didn't want to make her feel pressured to do something she didn't want to do.

Ally sighed and straightened her shoulders. "No, Austin," she said looking back up at him. "I want to be with you, and I deserve some time to myself. I'm just going to miss him."

"Well," he said. "I'll try to make tonight a good night."

"I know you will," she said softly as they arrived at his car. He tossed her bag into the backseat and opened the door for her. He watched her slide in and he smiled at her. She looked beautiful, well she always looked beautiful, but tonight she was sparkling.

She was wearing a simple black tank top under a flowy white blouse that she had left open. The top was belted at her waist over her bright pink skinny jeans. She was wearing black platform heels as well, Austin wondered what she would like if she was just wearing the shoes.

He shook his head and headed around the car to slide into his seat. He turned to Ally and picked up one of her hands to bring it up to his lips. She flushed as he kissed the back of her hand. He looked at her from under his lashes and enjoyed how deep her blush got.

Ally's breath hitched as Austin continued to look at her with his heated gaze. It was amazing to her that all he had to do was look at her and she was hot for his touch, his kiss.

"You look beautiful," he confessed as his eyes traveled over her body, undressing her with his eyes.

Th-thank-you." Ally stuttered, trying to calm her breathing, but it was so hard when his looks and his touch were inflaming her.

He placed her hand back in her lap before turning and starting the car, he backed it out and headed to their dinner destination.

…...

He parked the car in the garage under his hotel. He held his breath as he turned back to Ally. She was watching him carefully, her face giving nothing away. She had to know this was his hotel. She had to be wondering what they were doing here now, before they had even had dinner. But she wasn't giving anything away. He blew his breath out and turned off the car.

"I thought we would have dinner here," he said, still trying to gauge what she was thinking.

Her mind was whirling, she was doing everything possible not to freak out, but it was difficult. She wasn't expecting this. Dinner at a restaurant she could handle, coming here after was a bridge to cross later. It looked like she was going to have to cross it now, though.

"Are we eating in your room?" she asked clenching her fist around her seat belt.

He nodded slowly. "If that's okay?" he asked. He waited for her answer, hardly daring to breathe.

She released her seat belt and opened her door. As she climbed out of the car she reached into the backseat for her bag, which she tossed over her shoulder. "That's fine with me," she said slyly. "Are you coming?"

He opened his door hurriedly and Ally began to laugh softly as he tried to get out of the car without removing his seat belt first. He almost choked himself. He wrestled with the seat belt for a moment flushing as he did so. Smooth, Austin, he thought to himself, real smooth.

He joined a giggling Ally and rolled his eyes down at her. "Thanks, Ally," he growled causing her to giggle even more.

"Sorry," she snorted, laughing even harder at the put out expression on Austin's face.

He just shook his head and reached for her hand so he could lead the way to his room. When they arrived, Ally was trying to control the giggling but she finally stopped when he unlocked his door and they walked into the large room. The room had a king size bed along one wall and a large TV facing it. The curtains were open, showing a lovely view of downtown Miami and the ocean beyond it.

"Wow," Ally breathed. "Nice room." She walked over to the window to look out at the view. Austin followed her and grasped the strap of her bag, drawing it off her shoulder and setting it on the desk.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned forward into her. She sighed at his weight against her, she had missed this, his warmth, his weight, his touch, him. She sighed again as her eyes slid shut, she was just enjoying being held by him.

They broke apart when there was a tapping at the door. Austin opened the door to allow the room service to be rolled into the room. The waiter went about his business setting up their dinner and soon they were seated at the table across from each other enjoying their food.

"How did your lunch with Trish go?" he asked as he took a drink of his soda.

Ally smiled. "It went well," she grinned at him. "Mike, that attorney we met yesterday, was there and I singed papers dissolving my contract with Andrew and cementing my contract with Trish. She's dating him, you know."

Austin drew his eyebrows together in confusion. "She's dating Andrew? I thought she warned you away from him."

"Oh, she did," Ally replied. "She's seeing Mike, not Andrew."

Austin shook his head and smiled. "Good, that Andrew was a little weird."

Ally laughed lightly, "That's what Dez said when he met him."

"Dez can be very smart when he wants to be," Austin commented.

As Ally finished her dinner she pushed her plate away and leaned forward crossing her arms and resting them on the table. "We talked some stuff out, Trish and I. I think we're going to be okay, we just need a little time to figure out how our friendship is going to work now. She told me that you didn't see anyone while you were out on tour."

Austin was taken aback, he hadn't thought that they would have talked about him at lunch, but, then again, it was Trish and Ally, they probably thrived on talking about him.

He took a deep breath and focused his eyes on hers. "Ally, it's true. I was working so hard on the tour and everything that I barely had time to eat and sleep let alone do anything else."

She nodded at him. "I believe you," she said softly. "She told me something else."

She stopped speaking and looked away from him. How do you ask someone how they feel about you? How do you ask someone what they see in you? She took a shaky breath and shook her head angrily, trying to keep the tears she felt welling up in her eyes from overflowing.

Austin watched Ally struggle to speak. He drew his eyebrows together again. He wondered why she had such a hard time talking to him. "Ally? What is it?" he asked.

She looked up at him and said. "Trish said you came here, instead of going to California, to find out about me. To see how I was. And I just wondered why?"

Austin felt his heart break again. How could she not know how he felt? How could she not know how much he loved her? He took a deep breath and asked, "Do you want to hear a song?"

She looked at him in confusion before nodding her head at him. He got up and pulled her away from the table to sit on the bed. He retrieved his guitar from the case and sat across from her as he began strumming.

He sang the song he had written for her, trying to show her how he felt, how much he loved her.

("Gotta Be You" by One Direction)

Girl I see it in your eyes you're disappointed  
'Cause I'm the foolish one that you anointed with your heart  
I tore it apart  
And girl what a mess I made upon your innocence  
And no woman in the world deserves this  
But here I am asking you for one more chance

Can we fall one more time?  
Stop the tape and rewind  
Oh, and if you walk away  
I know I'll fade  
'Cause there is nobody else

It's gotta be you  
Only you  
It's got to be you  
Only you  
Hey (hey)

Now, girl, I hear it in your voice and how it trembles  
When you speak to me I don't resemble who I was  
You've almost had enough  
And your actions speak louder than your words  
And you're about to break from all you've heard  
But don't be scared, I ain't going nowhere

I'll be here by your side  
No more fears, no more crying  
But if you walk away  
I know I'll fade  
'Cause there is nobody else

It's gotta be you  
Only you  
It's got to be you  
Only you

Oh, girl,  
Can we try one more, one more time?  
One more, one more?  
Can we try one more, one more time?  
I'll make it better

One more, one more,  
Can we try one more, one more...

Can we try one more time and make it all better?

'Cause it's gotta be you  
It's gotta be you  
Only you  
Only you

It's gotta be you  
Only you  
It's got to be you  
Only you

She listened to him pour his heart out to her and she began to believe. When he finished the song, he set his guitar aside and pulled her into his arms. "Ally, you're the only one I want. I love you."

She wiped the tears from her face and laughed slightly, her shining eyes met his. "I love you, too."

She leaned her head up and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. He wrapped his arms more firmly around her and deepened the kiss. Once again, they were lost to the kiss, to each other.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: Thank you very much for all of the wonderful reviews. I appreciate them very much.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Austin & Ally, or anything else you might recognize, certainly not "Red" or "I Almost Do" by Taylor Swift or any dialog you might recognize from the show.**

Chapter 20

The next morning Austin rolled over to pull Ally close to him and realized the bed was empty. He pushed himself up on one arm and looked around, shaking his head to clear his blurry vision. He frowned at his empty hotel room before he realized that her bag was still on the desk and he could hear the shower running. He flopped back down on the bed and let out a sigh of relief.

He had thought she left in the middle of the night without telling him and that had made him feel awful, if only for a moment. Austin rubbed a hand over his chest and took a deep breath. Ally was a part of him and he didn't ever want to be away from her.

He heard the water shut off and waited patiently for her to appear.

…...

As Ally stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, she could no stop smiling. Last night had been everything she expected it to be and more. Austin had told her he loved her and he had showed her in more ways than one. She blushed as she noticed the love bite he had left on top of her right breast. Well, at least he hadn't left one on her neck.

She pushed a hand through her wet hair and turned from one side to the other, checking to make sure that he hadn't left any more marks on her body. Not that she would mind if he marked her with his mouth, she just didn't ant anyone else to see it. She dressed quickly and dried her hair a bit before going in search of Austin.

…...

He was watching the door of the bathroom, waiting for her to come out, hoping that she would be only wearing a towel. Unfortunately he was disappointed, as she had already dressed in a swingy, short, electric blue skirt and a tight white tank top. Her hair was still wet and she didn't have any make up on, Austin was certain he had never seen her look more beautiful.

"Good morning, gorgeous." his voice rasped out, still full of sleep.

She smiled at him and crossed over to the bed. "Good morning, sleepy-head," she said smiling down at him as she sat down beside him. "You need to get up. We have to go pick up Tyler and be at the studio in a couple of hours."

Austin groaned and reached for her, trying to pull her down onto the bed with him. She laughed at his attempts to get her back under the covers, but she was having one of it. Ally dodged his advances and hopped up from the bed. "Come on, Austin. Go take a shower, while I finish getting ready out here."

He groaned again but it was mostly just for show. He threw the sheet off and walked to the bathroom, naked as the day he was born. Ally flushed as she tried, and failed, to keep her eyes on his face as he approached her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him causing her to squeak in surprise. "Austin," she whined as she wiggled against him, trying to free herself. "What are you doing?"

He grinned and nuzzled his face into her neck.. She smelled amazing, he thought to himself and took another deep breath. "You smell really good," he rasped, still trying to shake the sleep out of his voice.

She melted against him slightly and she turned her head to kiss him on the cheek. "We really need to go soon," she pleaded.

Austin smiled as he looked down at her, God she was short when she wasn't wearing shoes, and tilted her chin up so he could place a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm going," he said reluctantly. "Although, I know of much better ways to spend the morning."

He finally released her and made his way into the bathroom, he stuck his head out to tell her one more thing before he got into the shower. "Next time, I'm going to be joining you in the shower."

She huffed out a breath as she sank down on the edge of the bed. That man was going to be the death of her, what with the walking around naked, and the kissing and the telling her he would join her in the shower. A girl could only take so much, you know, before she exploded from all the feelings. And she was feeling feelings. She was definitely feeling feelings.

…...

Austin and Ally headed back to his parents house and gathered all of the things that Ally thought he would need for a day at the studio daycare and then they were on their way. They arrived at he the studio and dodged paparazzi, trying to keep Tyler as covered as possible. When they arrived at the daycare, however, Austin was not prepared for the tears.

The tears from Ally, not Tyler. She didn't want to leave even though she would see him in a couple of hours when Tyler was hungry. Austin had to wrap an arm around her waist and let her cry into his shoulder all the way to the studio that had been reserved for them, before she finally settled down.

They walked in and he set down his guitar and guided Ally to the couch. "Ally," he said softly. "It's going to be okay, you'll go nurse him in a couple of hours and then maybe he could stay here with us while he naps," Austin suggested.

She wiped her hands across her face and took a breath, releasing it shakily. "Okay, sorry," she said softly looking up at him with wet eyes. "I don't know what happened, I've never done that before."

"Have you ever left him with someone that wasn't family before?" Austin asked as he hugged her tightly.

She shook her head against his chest and smiled ruefully. "No, just with your parents or Dez. That's probably it. I need to stop breaking down in front of you though, I'm going to freak you out one of these days."

"I doubt it," Austin said sceptically. "I find you fascinating, in any mood, so don't worry about me."

He kissed her briefly before they started to get to work.

…...

Ally was sitting at the piano with Austin on the bench behind her, finishing their duet. They sang the final verse sadly with their voices blending perfectly on the last line.

["I Almost Do" by Taylor Swift]

(_Ally_, **Austin**, Together)

_I bet this time of night you're still up._  
**I bet you're tired from a long hard week.**  
_I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window looking out at the city._  
**And I hope sometimes you wonder about me.**

And I hope sometimes you wonder about me.

Their hands stopped playing as they turned to face each other. They stared into each others eyes reading the pain and sadness there, knowing this song said everything about how they had been feeling. It was powerful, it was melancholy, it was compelling, it was weary and in the end it was hopeful.

Suddenly the quiet mood was broken by soft applause from the doorway. Jimmy Star stood there, in suit and tie, watching them. He smiled. "You two have still got it. I'll admit after everything that went on this past year, I was worried you wouldn't be able to work together again. But it looks like I was wrong."

Austin stood and crossed the room holding out his hand to shake Jimmy's. "Hey," he said. "Thanks. I'm glad we can still work together, too."

"We'll have to sit down and figure out how to best use both of your talents," Jimmy said slyly. "I know we talked a little about it at lunch yesterday, but we'll have to talk more. Have Trish call me and we'll set something up for early next week. You need to get in the studio as well, Austin, for your new album."

Jimmy frowned to himself and muttered about times and studio space. Austin pressed his lips together as he watched Jimmy talk to himself. "I hope that my not moving to California isn't going to be a problem, Jimmy," he stated.

"No, no, don't worry about that. I didn't really think it would happen anyway," Jimmy responded waving his hands and glancing over at Ally, who was trying hard not to look like she was listening by writing in her book.

Austin also glanced over at Ally and couldn't help but smile. He looked wryly back at Jimmy and shrugged his shoulders in understanding.

Jimmy clapped his hands together and said, "Well, that song sounded great. Is that one of the songs you'll be performing Friday?"

"Yeah," Austin answered his gaze drifting back to Ally, who was lightly playing her song, Red. "Ally has a great song to sing as well, do you have a few minutes to listen to it?"

Jimmy nodded and backed out of the room to turn on the equipment and speakers so he could hear her outside of the sound booth. Austin turned to Ally, "You ready to sing that song again?"

Ally nodded and began to play louder as Austin also stepped out of the room.

Ally began to sing, her voice poignant and captivating.

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street  
Faster than the wind, passionate as sin ending so suddenly.

Austin and Jimmy sat back and listened in wonder as Ally's voice took them on a trip through her heartbreak. Austin leaned forward and leaned his arms on his knees as he watched Ally sing about love and loss, he felt those same feelings course through him as he remembered the past year. His gaze darkened as he lost himself in her song, promising himself they would never feel that way again.

Jimmy was stunned, if anything her voice had gotten better since the last time he heard it, it was full of heartache and dripping with feeling, reeling you in until all that existed was her voice and this song.

His love is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street

Ally finished the song and her playing drifted away to silence. She bowed her head and struggled against the tears that were threatening to fall. She took a deep breath and then another, blinking hard as she willed the tears away. Finally, when she was sure she had herself under control, she stood and walked out of the booth.

Jimmy was smiling from ear to ear. "That sounded great, Ally. You were amazing. That's going to go over very well on Friday."

He stood and told them he had to get back to his office for a meeting but he would check on them later, he shut the door quietly behind him and he left.

Ally stood awkwardly in the doorway between the sound booth and the control room watching Austin. He hadn't looked at her since she had stopped playing. "Austin," she called softly.

He looked up at her and the look in his eyes took her breath away. It was so full of love and promise, that she couldn't tear her eyes from him. She wanted so badly to believe everything she saw there.

He stood and walked to her, wrapping his arms around her and cradling her against himself. "You break my heart all over again every time I hear that song," He whispered into her hair.

"I don't mean to," she whispered back.

He smiled and shook his head, she felt his chest rumble as he chuckled. "Yes, you do," he stated. "You do."


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Thank you again for all the great reviews! I also want to thank everyone who has Followed and/or Favorited this story, I'm glad you're enjoying it.  
**

**Disclaimer: Again, I do not own anything from Disney's Austin & Ally.**

Chapter 21

Ally was downstairs in the daycare finishing up feeding Tyler. As he nursed, his eyes drifted closed and she knew he would nap for close to 2 hours. She wondered if she should take Austin up on his suggestion of having Tyler nap upstairs in the studio.

She debated with herself, considering everything they had to accomplish. If they were going to do it, today would be the day as Austin's band would be there tomorrow. She explained what she wanted to do and the daycare staff was extremely accommodating sending a travel crib up to the correct studio as Ally shouldered the diaper bag and adjusted Tyler in her arms. He was getting heavy.

She made her way to the studio quietly, hoping that Tyler wouldn't wake up. She saw the employee who had taken the travel crib exit the studio and turn toward her. She noticed Ally and flushed slightly as she looked down at the floor, so she wouldn't have to talk to her.

Ally slowed and turned as she passed the daycare employee, who walked toward the elevator in a hurry. Ally readjusted Tyler as she drew her eyebrows together. That was weird, she thought. I wonder why she didn't want to talk to me, maybe she just had to get back to work. Ally shook herself slightly and turned to finish making her way toward the studio.

She froze just outside the door as she heard a woman's voice float out followed by Austin's. She stood there biting her lip trying to decide if she should just stay here and listen or head inside. Her body made the decision for her as her feet refused to move.

"...don't think you should keep this from her. It's stupid, Austin," the familiar voice floated out.

No, it's not," Austin argued. "And it's not like I'm lying to her, I'm just not telling her about it."

Ally's mouth dropped open and she stared in shock at the studio. She hadn't placed that voice yet, but what was Austin talking about? Was he hiding something from her?

"Look," the woman's voice came again. "I think that if you really want to make this work out in the end, you should just come out and tell her. Come clean."

"I can't do that right now," Austin argued. "It's not the right time. I just need to do this the right way, at the right time. That's just the way it needs to be."

Ally stood there with her arms full and her heart heavy. Her mind wanted to flee, her heart wanted to burst. What was going on?

"Alright," the woman's voice sighed. "Be stubborn. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ally began backing away from the door quickly, she didn't want to get caught eavesdropping. She was halfway down the hallway when a figure appeared in the studio door. Ally reversed her footsteps again clutching Tyler to her and looking down at his peacefully sleeping face, there was a part of her which didn't want to know who Austin had been talking to, but she couldn't stop herself as she looked up. She stopped dead in the hallway faced with Kira Star, tall and exotic and gorgeous.

"Hey, Ally," Kira said softly stopping in front of Ally. She glanced down at the baby in Ally's arm and her face visibly softened. "Awww, he's beautiful."

Ally cleared her throat and glanced down as well trying to calm her racing thoughts. "Thank you, Kira," she said. "It's good to see you."

"You too," Kira answered as she looked back over her shoulder to see Austin standing in the studio's doorway. Kira frowned slightly at him as she turned back to Ally. "Well, I should get going."

Ally swallowed hard and schooled her features as she locked her gaze with Austin's, he tilted his head to the side and he tried to figure out what that look on Ally's face reminded him of.

"See you, Kira," Ally called softly as she walked slowly to the studio. She smiled up at Austin, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. She had no idea what they had been talking about, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know, so she was going to try and pretend she hadn't heard anything at all.

She didn't know if she could pull it off, but she was going to try. Ally wasn't sure if Austin would let her behavior in the hallway slide or not, but she walked past him smoothly looking for the crib to deposit Tyler in. She settled her sleeping son and touched his cheek softly before straightening and turning to face the room.

Austin was standing right behind her with a concerned look on his face. She tried to step back, but she had forgotten about the travel crib and she almost fell over. She would have if Austin hadn't reached out and wrapped his arms around her, catching her, and pulling her close.

"Hey," he said softly letting his eyes roam over Ally's face. "Are you alright?"

"I, um, I was just surprised to see you right behind me," Ally stuttered as she looked up into his face, trying to control her breathing.

"Didn't mean to scare you," he said leaning down to kiss her lightly. He pulled back slightly and looked in to Ally's eyes. What was that look she was giving him.

She smiled and the look fell away, so he let it go and followed her back to the piano.

…

The rest of the afternoon had flown by, the weird mood had been pushed aside and they finished their song. After Tyler woke up, Austin and Ally called it a day and headed back to his parent's house.

They had just gotten inside when Austin's phone rang. He walked outside to take it leaving Ally to wonder and get Tyler settled by herself.

"Hey, Als," he said casually coming back into the house. "I can't hang out tonight. I have some errands to run and I'm going to give Dez a call, maybe grab some dinner with him. I haven't been spending much time with him since I got back."

Ally looked carefully at his face, trying to determine what was really going on, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary. She forced herself to relax and took a deep breath before she answered.

"That's fine," she smiled up at him. I need to get to bed early tonight anyway, I'm kind of tired. Did you want me to meet you at the studio in the morning or do you want to pick us up?"

He considered the question for a moment as he again wondered at the look in Ally's eyes. He wondered what it meant, but still didn't have a clue. He smiled at her and said, "I'll be here tomorrow at nine to pick you guys up." He walked over to Tyler who was playing on the floor and scooped him up, cuddling him for a moment before kissing the top of his head.

"See you in the morning, little man," Austin whispered against his son's head. "You be good for Mommy tonight, she needs to get some rest."

He eyed Ally over the baby's head and smiled at her, his gaze traveling over the contours of her face. He walked over to her after placing his son back on the floor and drew her into his arms, pulling her close, until there was no space left between them. Ally felt his body radiating warmth and closed her eyes to enjoy the closeness.

Austin slid his hands up her arms to cup her head and pull her lips to his for a long, lingering kiss. When Ally opened her eyes after he released her, they were darkened by lust and Austin leaned back down and kissed her again.

She slid her arms around his shoulders to keep from collapsing under the onslaught of his kiss. Austin chuckled and pulled away, Ally turned her head and leaned it against his muscled chest, breathing heavily. "You sure you can't stay?" she asked seductively.

Austin laughed louder. "I would, but I really need to go do some stuff. And see Dez. I'll call you later if it's not too late, otherwise I'll just see you in the morning.

He kissed her briefly before turning and walking away.

…

As he drove away from his parent's house, Austin wondered if he was doing the right thing. Maybe Kira was right, maybe he should tell Ally. He debated with himself for most of the drive. Should he? Shouldn't he? Could he? Couldn't he? He just needed a little more time, then he would tell her. He would tell Ally when the time was right. He locked his car and headed back into the studio.

…

Ally hung up her phone and set it on the bed next to her. She had just been putting Tyler down for the night when it had rang and she had been happy to see it was Dez. She hadn't talked to him very much since Austin had returned.

Her mood had turned sour however when she had realized that Austin hadn't done what he said he would. He wasn't out with Dez, so that meant he had lied to her about what he was doing. Didn't it? She had tried to keep her emotions under control, but she couldn't hide them from Dez. She finally spilled everything. Overhearing the conversation between Austin and Kira. Knowing he was supposed to be out with Dez and not being there. She didn't know what was going on. She didn't like it.

Dez tried to soothe her over the phone, there was probably a good explanation why Austin had talked to Kira and hadn't told Ally about it. He probably just got caught up in his errands and didn't have a chance to call Dez yet. It wasn't that late. Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing.

But Ally wasn't so sure. Her heart and her mind were arguing again. What was he keeping from her? That was one thing she was sure of. Austin was keeping something from her. Did she trust him enough to wait until he came to her? Would he come to her? Did she trust him?

He had told her he loved, her heart said soaring. He had told her that before, her mind said falling. He had told her he was going to stay. He had told her that before. Up, down, soaring, falling, the argument within her continued. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to think?

She curled up on her bed in the dim twilight and thinking her swirling thoughts she finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

…

When Austin dragged his exhausted body out of the studio, dreaming of dinner and his bed, he was surprised to find Dez leaning on his car, blocking his way.

"Dez," he said tiredly, rubbing a hand through his hair, trying to wake himself up. "What are you doing here?"

"Apparently, you were supposed to call me and hang out with me tonight," Dez said without looking up.

"I was?" Austin asked in confusion, twirling his keys and cocking his head.

"According to Ally," Dez said finally raising his eyes to Austin's. Austin saw the anger, the bitterness and his shoulders slumped.

"You spoke to her?" Austin asked, looking guilty and uncomfortable.

Dez straightened from his resting place on Austin's car and took a step closer to his friend. "You want to tell me what 's going on?" Dez asked quietly. Austin knew that the quieter he got, the angrier he actually was. Dez was very quiet which meant he was very angry.

Austin debated for a moment but realized he didn't have a choice. "Yeah, man. I'll explain. You want to grab that bite to eat?"

Dez was taken off-guard, he hadn't expected Austin to cave so easily. Should he go eat with him? At least Austin wouldn't have lied to Ally about that if he did. "Sure," Dez agreed. "Let me just text Ally."

Austin nodded. "Can you not tell her that I'm here, at the studio, though. I know it's asking a lot, but I want it to be a surprise."

"Ally hates surprises," Dez responded looking at Austin, surprised that he would forget that.

"I know," Austin sighed. "But this is important to me. Please?"

Dez looked at his friend and sent a brief text to Ally. "Alright, but you better start talking."

…

Ally felt her phone buzz next to her, she groggily sat up and picked it up with trepidation. The text was from Dez and she frowned at her phone before reading the text.

**Grabbing a bite with Austin. Errands took him longer than he thought. Talk to you tomorrow.**

Ally huffed out a breath. She chewed the inside of her cheek as she considered what was going on. Dez wouldn't lie to her, not knowingly, so she began to relax. She went to change into something more comfortable and decided to worry about everything tomorrow.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: Thanks for all of the reviews, they mean a lot! My apologies to those of you who want to know what Austin is hiding, this just needed to be dealt with.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not Austin & Ally or anything else you might recognize.**

Chapter 22

Thursday morning dawned overcast and gray, just like Ally's mood. She couldn't shake the feeling that something weird was going on with Austin, but she was afraid to ask him about. The day went by in a blur, there was rehearsal and meetings about questions and strange looks and hurt feelings and headaches and she didn't even know which end was up by the time she and Austin left the studio.

Tyler was not pleased to be in the car with them and he screamed most of the way home, even though they were playing Austin's latest album. Ally was certain that Tyler was feeling all of the emotions and suspense and tension that filled the car, but at least she didn't have to talk to Austin about it, she could hardly hear herself think, much less Austin.

Tyler's cries began to calm down as they turned into his parents neighborhood, and he finally fell asleep when they the car pulled into the driveway. Austin put the car in park and collapsed back into his seat rubbing his hands over his face, thankful for the silence.

Ally sighed and leaned back as well, not wanting to speak and break the spell.

She looked over and noticed the strange car beside Austin';s and wondered who was here.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Austin whispered turning his head to face her. He was aware that something was wrong with Ally, he just needed to know.

"She looked up at him with tired eyes and answered. "I'm just tired. These last few days have really taken it out of me."

Austin nodded in understanding as he exited the car and began to carefully remove the car-seat so Tyler wouldn't wake up. "What do you think got into this little guy?" He decided to focus on their son, now.

As Ally dragged herself out of the car she shook her head to indicate that she had no idea, but she focused on the car behind Austin and wondered again about who it belonged to.

"Do you recognize that car?" she queried quietly following Austin to the front door. Ally slipped past him and opened the door for him.

They walked into what felt like a war zone.

The Moon's were standing in the doorway of the living room effectively blocking anyone from entering or exiting. Austin had frozen, recognizing the looks on their faces as ones of anger. Ally could feel the tension laying over the room and she found it hard to breathe. What was going on?

"Ally?" a voice from the living room asked. "I just want to talk."

Ally's jaw dropped and the color fell out of her face so fast that Austin set his son down quickly, in case she passed out and he had to catch her. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried, and failed, to speak or get more air or something, anything.

She felt Austin's hand on hers and she looked down at how they fit so perfectly together.

"You don't have to see him," Mimi said tightly sending a furious look over her shoulder.

Ally finally found her voice and asked, "Dad?"

…...

After the initial shock, Ally and Austin handed Tyler over the still very angry Moon's and entered the living room. They were surprised to see not only Lester, Ally's father, but Trish. They settle down on the couch together to find out what was going on.

"I'm sorry that I didn't call and warn you," Trish was saying as Ally and her father stared at each other. "I know I should have, but I couldn't get away to do it privately. I thought Mr. Dawson might leave or something if I left him alone."

"Dad," Ally whispered, gripping Austin's hand tightly, holding onto any semblance of security, putting her suspicions and theories about Austin away for the evening and focusing all of her attention on her father. "What are you doing here?"

"Trish made me come," he said softly not looking Ally in the eyes. "She came and saw me Sunday evening. I didn't want to let her in, but she was persuasive."

Lester rubbed one hand over his forehead gently before looking back at Ally. "I came here to apologize."

His words hung in the air and no one dared to take a breath for fear they would disappear.

Ally finally broke the silence his words had caused and asked, "Apologize?"

Lester nodded sadly. "I've been speaking with your mother," he began as Ally just looked confused and held onto Austin. "She was trying to convince me to go to see my doctor, but I was resisting. When Austin came in on Saturday, I started to rethink."

Both Ally and Trish turned to look at Austin who was looking incredibly guilty. "I know I shouldn't have gone in, after Dez told me not to, but I couldn't help myself," Austin interjected.

Ally took a deep breath and turned back to her dad, indicating that he should finish telling his story.

Lester inhaled and let the breath out slowly before refocusing on Ally. He nodded once and started talking again. "And then Trish came over on Sunday. She just barreled right by me. She wouldn't listen when I asked her to leave and when your mother called to try and talk sense into me again, Trish got to the phone first."

"I answered and talked to your mom and she didn't hang up on me this time," Trish took over the story for a moment. "I told her that it was obvious that he had gone off his medication and asked her what I should do to get him back on some."

"Medication?" Austin asked thoroughly confused. Ally looked like she was going to be sick at Trish's words and he tried to pull his own confusion back to be able to take care of her. Austin pulled her closer to his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm.

Trish continued, "I know that you thought I didn't know about him, but I saw his medications in the kitchen one night when I was over one night for a sleepover and I asked my mom about it when I got home. Sorry."

Ally shrugged and felt miserable, she was feeling nauseous and scared and felt everything about her life flying apart. He never wanted anyone to know about her dad, she thought it was a private family affair. They shouldn't know. She began to cry softly and Austin tightened his grip on her as Trish moved to sit on her other side.

"Ally, I'm so sorry that I found out and asked my mom about it so she knows, too, but you should have told me, Trish said softly. "I would have been able to support you, listen to you. Do what I always did for you, because I was your friend."

"I was so afraid," Ally sobbed. "I was so afraid that you would look at me differently or judge us or I don't even know what I thought. Just that it would be bad if I told anyone outside of my family."

"Honey," Lester said softly as he realized that she was surrounded by her family and the fact that he wasn't included in that definition right now hurt him deeply, even though he had brought it on himself. "I'm bipolar. It's a disease. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and I think that if you had told your friends, it would have been easier for you to deal with."

Austin sat for a moment stunned at this revelation, although from what he knew about it which wasn't much, it could be controlled by medication. He wondered why Mr. Dawson had stopped taking it.

Lester sighed as he leaned forward to face Ally. He searched her face and found no forgiveness yet, but there was hope. That was always one thing he could count on from his Ally-gator, there was always hope. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry for what I've done over the past year, everything I said. I was sick and not taking my medication."

"Trish and your mother weren't going to give up o me though," he continued. "They talked together before badgering me at the same time. I was on the phone with your mother and Trish was right there beside me, not taking no for an answer again. Something they said must have finally gotten through, because the next afternoon I was at my doctor's office."

Ally had finally calmed down and was listening to her dad. She sniffled and wiped her nose with the tissue Trish handed her. "Dad, you said some horrible things to me and treated me badly, but you're still my dad and I love you. We'll get past this."

She stood and walked to her dad who pulled himself out of his chair o envelop her in a hug. They held onto each other for a long time and there were tears and reassurances, hope and love, all wrapped up in that hug with them. Austin and Trish finally relaxed and exchanged a look of relief.

…...

They left Ally and her father to get reacquainted in the living room and Trish, after being hugged fiercely and thanked many times by Ally, finally left leaving Austin to explain everything to his parents. Mimi had turned over the job of feeding Tyler to Austin as she began to prepare dinner.

Austin took Tyler upstairs to change him and get him ready for bed, he was wondering if he should take Tyler downstairs to Ally to nurse or not, when she let herself into the room. Once she had settled down in her chair with their son, she turned her head up to look at Austin.

"Thank you for staying with me," she said. She took a deep breath when she saw the look on Austin's face. It was open and hopeful and warm and sweet and loving. He sat down on the edge of her bed and leaned toward her capturing her lips for moment.

"Ally, I would do anything for you," he said smiling at her. He lifted a hand and rested it gently on his son's head as he nursed. "I'm sorry that I ever gave you a reason to doubt that, to doubt me. Why didn't you tell me?"

Ally looked away for a moment before meeting his gaze. "I don't know," she confessed. "I didn't even tell Trish, I don't know how I would have told you. I was scared, I guess, there's such a stigma attached to any sort of mental illness that I just hoped no one would ever know."

Oh, Ally," he sighed. "I just would have tried to be as supportive of you as you had always been of me. I want you to know that you can tell me anything, anything at all. I will be there to listen, to hold you whenever you need me to be."

Austin's eyes searched her face for the closed off look she had been showing him all day, but it seemed to have disappeared. All her could see was the hopeful light in her eyes, the reassuring lilt to her smile and he smiled back at her.

"So, after the broadcast in the morning, will you go somewhere with me, you and Tyler? We'll come back here to pick him up. Please?" he begged.

She tilted her head and answered, "Where?"

He shook his head at her, his blonde hair falling in his eyes. "I know you don't like surprises, so I won't tell you it is one. I'm just going to ask you to trust me that you'll like it. Will you trust me?"

Emotions flitted through her eyes, surprise, fear, intrigue, anxiety, hope. He watched them all holding his breath, afraid that she would say no, afraid that the answer would always be no. Ally surprised him when she smiled and answered, "Yes."

"Yes," she said again amazed at how much brighter his smile was. "Yes. We'll come with you. I'll trust you."


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: Thank you again for all of the reviews. Thank you to everyone who has been reading and following and favoriting this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Disney's Austin and Ally. I do not own 'Red' by Taylor Swift. I do not own 'I Think About You' by Ross Lynch**.

Chapter 23

Friday morning arrived early and chilly, with a cool breeze blowing in off the ocean. Austin picked Ally up and they drank coffee as they silently made their way to the studio where Good Morning Miami was filmed. They had to be there by five so they could warm-up their voices and get hair and makeup done for the seven o'clock show.

They didn't have much time together as they were being prepared for the show, Trish was running back and forth making sure Austin and Ally knew what questions to answer and which ones to deflect. Dez was there for support and when Trish wasn't with one of them, he was.

The four of them came together in the green room moments before the show was to start to watch the introduction. Austin and Dez were hanging out when Trish and Ally walked in the room.

"Hey," Austin called standing up and crossing to Ally. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her tightly. "You ready for this?"

She looked at him with wide eyes, filled with feelings she couldn't explain. She was terrified and excited and nervous and panicked and she couldn't swallow around the lump in her throat. She just shook her head at him and let him tug her closer, wanting his warmth, his strength, his confidence to flow into her.

"Ally," he whispered into her hair, kissing her softly. "This is just one hour out of our life. We don't have to tell them anything we don't want to."

She finally swallowed the fear that had been choking her and she looked up at Austin, seeing the blazing look in his eyes. "I know, one hour," she repeated. "I can do this. We can do this."

He pulled back and looked her over. Ally's hair was curling softly around her face and shoulders, her dark green dress hugged her curves just right and fell softly to just above her knees. She looked beautiful.

Ally looked over Austin and felt her heart start to beat faster. His gray jeans were snug and his white button down shirt fit him like a glove, he was going to grab his black blazer and throw it on when they were introduced.

Trish was watching them appreciate each other and called loudly, "The show is starting, come watch."

Austin and Ally started and walked over to join Dez and Trish in front of the monitor. The peppy theme music was playing and The hosts walked out to overwhelming applause from the studio audience.

"I'm Craig Fraser..," the blonde man said striding across the set.

"And I'm Diane Diaz," the dark-haired woman spoke as she followed.

"And this is Good Morning Miami," they finished together, smiling to the studio audience. They stood for a moment before taking their seats and motioning for the audience to calm down.

Craig turned to Diane and laughed for a moment, before he could talk. "Diane, this is an exciting morning."

"I know, Craig," she smiled at him. "We are in for one heck of a morning. We have been talking all week about Austin Moon and his former girlfriend and song-writer, Ally Dawson."

As they went through their introduction, pictures began to appear behind them of Austin and Ally from the past week.

"Yes, we have been wondering what they have been up to over the past week. They have been seen out on the town, looking to houses and carting a small child around with them. We just want to know what it all means," Craig answered looking slyly at the audience as they began clapping loudly again.

Diane laughed. "Yes, we want to know what's going on with them and so does our studio audience it appears."

"And our viewers at home, too," Craig smoothly interjected. "So let's check on the weather and the traffic briefly and then bring out our guests. We are pleased to have both Austin Moon and Ally Dawson here today."

"And they will be with us right after this," Diane finished.

Austin turned to Ally and gripped her shoulders, "Let's do this."

She nodded back at him and they left the green room with Trisha and Dez wishing them luck.

Austin and Ally waited just off set for the hosts to introduce them. Austin was excited and found it hard to contain himself so he was fidgeting with his guitar and checking to make sure it was tuned properly. Ally was still, holding onto every emotion tightly, just waiting and breathing.

They heard the producer signal that they were coming back from commercial and Austin reached for Ally's hand. Their eyes locked and their breath held for a single moment. They were introduced and they walked out onto the stage smiling and waving to the audience. Soon they found themselves sitting in bright red chairs between the two hosts.

Craig and Diane found their seats again and waved the audience down again. They smiled at Austin and Ally, and the questions began.

"Austin," Diane began turning partway to face him. "You just finished your big World Tour and everyone was expecting you to move to California, but suddenly, here you are in Miami. Tell us what's going on."

Austin smiled and leaned forward slightly. "Well, Diane, it's great to be back here in Miami. As you know, I'm from here and I have been visiting family and getting reaquainted with my friends."

"One of those friends being your former girlfriend and song-writer Ally Dawson?" Craig asked.

Austin turned his smile toward Craig and looked at Ally. "Right. She was definitely at the top of my list."

"Let's play the clip of the press release we received from Star Record earlier this week," Diane interjected.

Austin and Ally turned to see that large screen behind them and watched as the P.R. Guy from Star Records appeared and read the release. "We here at Star record would like to say that our artist Austin Moon will not be moving to California at this time, but remaining here in Miami. He has recently become aware of the son he has with Ally Dawson, a song-writer here. We are asking that you give the couple privacy to deal with this issue and give them some time to deal with it. Thank you."

Austin and Ally faced the audience again and both Diane and Craig leaned in closer to them. "Austin," Diane asked, "Is that true? You have a son with Ally and she never told you?"

Austin grimaced before sitting up straighter in his chair. He looked at Ally and smiled before answering. "It's true that I wasn't aware that she was pregnant or that I had a son until last week when I walked into my parent's house and found her there. She never told me about him, because of choices I made, however. I chose to cut all ties when I left to go on tour, with Ally, with my friends."

"Ally made several attempts to contact me and inform me that she was pregnant, but I wouldn't take her calls. My behavior over the past year was immature and reprehensible and I have a lot to make up for."

Ally had leaned forward while he was talking and taken his hand intertwining their fingers. She looked at Austin and squeezed his hand. "Mistakes were made," Ally said. "They are being rectified."

Diane sat back in her seat and smiled again. "Rectified? Aren't you horribly angry with him? Can you find it in yourself to forgive him?"

Ally smiled as she turned her head to look at Diane. "I'm working on it. I'm not going to lie and say it's going to be easy, repairing our relationship, but I have a really good reason to try. I have a son with Austin and although this last year hasn't been anything like I wanted it to be, I have to move forward."

Austin took that opportunity to interject, "Ally has a new song, about this past year and how she dealt with it, if you'd like to hear it."

Ally stood and made her way over to the piano as the audience once again filled the studio with applause and encouragement.

Austin said, "Ally wrote his song about me, as you'll be able to tell and I think it's absolutely amazing."

Ally began to play and the song poured out of her and filled the studio with her grief, but her eyes remained clear and her voice remained steady and her hands caressed the keys.

[Red by Taylor Swift]

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street  
Faster than the wind, passionate as sin ending so suddenly  
Loving him is like trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall  
Like the colors in autumn, so bright just before they lose it all

Losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark gray all along  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
But loving him was red  
Loving him was red

Touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you  
Memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song  
Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer  
Regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong

Losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark gray all along  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
But loving him was red  
Oh, red  
Burning red

Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes  
Tell myself it's time now, gotta let go  
But moving on from him is impossible  
When I still see it all in my head  
Burning red  
Loving him was red

Oh, losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark gray all along  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
'Cause loving him was red  
Yeah, yeah, red  
We're burning red

And that's why he's spinnin' 'round in my head  
Comes back to me, burning red  
Yeah, yeah

His love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street

Ally finished the song and the audience exploded with cheering and applause. She bowed her head as Craig and Diane sent the show to another commercial. Austin was beside her instantly, pulling her up off the bench and hugging her. "That was amazing, as usual," he whispered, well aware that they were still being taped.

"Thanks," she whispered back as she allowed Austin to lead her back to her previous seat. She waved her thanks to the audience and watched as Austin set himself up beside the piano on a stool for his song, which she would introduce when the show came back.

Craig and Diane congratulated her on her song and then it was time to return.

"Welcome back to Good morning Miami," Craig smiled smoothly into the camera.

"We're here this morning with pop star Austin Moon and song-writer Ally Dawson," Diane cut in seamlessly. "Ally just graced us with an amazing song and it looks like Austin is ready to do the same."

"Yes," Ally spoke up sitting forward slightly so she could look over at Austin. "I sang a song I wrote about him and this past year and he has a song he wrote about me, I hope you like it, I know I certainly did."

Austin smiled at the camera and swung his guitar up. "I'm going to sing a song for you that I didn't write alone. Ally started it a couple of years ago and I never recorded it. It was always just a song for us. I was on the bus one night and thinking about her and I tweaked the song a little. Sorry Ally, I know this isn't the song you were expecting, but this is the one I need to sing."

Ally raised a hand to clutch her throat and prayed that she would be able to control her emotions. As soon as she heard him splay the first few notes, she knew what song it was and her eyes widened and her breath caught and she bit her lip to keep from crying.

[I Think About You by Ross Lynch]

Last summer we met.  
We started as friends.  
I can't tell you how it all happened.  
Then autumn – it came.  
We were never the same.  
Those nights everything felt like magic.

And I wonder if you miss me too.  
If you don't, here's the one thing that I wish you knew.

I think about you every morning when I open my eyes.  
I think about you every evening when I turn out the lights.  
I think about you every moment, every day of my life.  
You're on my mind all the time. It's true.

I think about you, you, you, you, you.

I think about you, you, you, you, you.

Would you know what to say.

If I saw you today.

Would you let it all crumble to pieces.

'Cause I know that I should

Forget you if I could

I can't yet for so many reasons

I think about you every morning when I open my eyes.  
I think about you every evening when I turn out the lights.  
I think about you every moment, every day of my life.  
You're on my mind all the time. It's true.

I think about you, you, you, you, you.

I think about you, you, you, you, you.

How long 'til I stop pretending  
What we have is never ending.  
Oh, oh, oh.  
If all we are is just a moment,  
Don't forget me 'cause I won't and  
I can't help myself.

I think about you. Ooh, ooh.  
I think about you. Ooh.

I think about you every morning when I open my eyes.  
I think about you every evening when I turn out the lights.  
I think about you every moment, every day of my life.  
You're on my mind all the time. It's true.  
I think about you, you, you, you, you.

I think about you, you, you, you, you.

He played the last chord and looked up to lock his gaze with Ally's. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears and he watched as she swallowed hard. The audience was going crazy with their applause and yelling. Craig and Diane exchanged a look and smiled at each other.

"I think it's time to check on the weather and traffic again," Craig said.

"So we'll be back with you after this," Diane finished.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews and thank you for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally or I Almost Do by Taylor Swift. **

Chapter 24

Austin slid into the seat next to Ally and reached for her hand, but she pulled away not letting him take hold of her. She was looking down at her lap and taking shaky breath after shaky breath.

"Als," he whispered leaning closer. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was changing the song, but I had to sing that one. I had to."

She nodded sharply and took one last deep breath before being composed enough to look at him. "We'll talk about it later," she whispered back. "We just have to make it through the rest of this show."

Craig sat forward and Austin and Ally straitened in their chairs. Craig spoke first, "Welcome back to."

"Good Morning Miami," Diane finished smiling into the camera. "We're here this morning talking with Austin Moon and Ally Dawson."

"They both performed a new song and, I just have to ask, is this something we can plan on seeing more of in the future?" Craig interjected. "Are you planning to continue working together?"

Austin and Ally exchanged a long look and smiled at each other before facing the camera again. "We don't really know what the future has in store for us professionally right now," Ally began. "I know that Austin is going to be working on a new album soon. We haven't really discussed whether or not I'll be writing any songs with him or not."

"As much as I love working with Ally, I am very aware that she is working with several other artists at the moment. I'm so proud of her and I don't want to interfere with her career, so we will have to talk about working together before a decision is made," Austin spoke up.

"Getting back to the pictures we saw over the course of this week, I know you don't want to release your son's name, but can you tell us how having Austin involved in your life, and your son's life, is going?" Diane asked.

Ally smiled as the pictures of them with Tyler flashed behind her again. She turned her head slightly and watched a moment before answering. "It's been interesting. I didn't know much about babies before I had one so I was kind of floundering for a little while after he arrived. Unfortunately, I think Austin knows even less about babies so I think I kind of threw him under the bus by leaving them alone together for a couple of hours the other day."

Austin nodded and laughed as he began to relax a little. "Yeah, she left me alone with the baby and our friend Dez. I thought it would be easy because our son had just gone down for a nap, but it didn't exactly go as I planned. He screamed and screamed until finally I started singing, Ally had told me he likes to hear my music, I'm so glad I remembered that. But yeah, it was kind of trial by fire."

Both Craig and Diane giggled at that before Craig started speaking again. "So you met your son and then started looking at houses together, right?"

"I knew that I didn't want to move to California anymore, I need to be here. In order to do that I do need a place to live and it just made sense that I should find a place near Ally and our son," Austin stated placing one foot across his opposite knee.

"So will this be a family home, then? Either now or in the future?" Diane asked a question that had been rejected by Austin and Ally.

Austin felt Ally stiffen slightly beside him as he sat forward to answer. "Well, Diane," he smiled. "Since I am planning on living in the house I found for many years and I have a son, it will definitely be a family home."

Ally smiled at Austin's response which didn't really answer the question.

Diane nodded as she hadn't really expected them to answer the question. "So, I know that the two of you have one more song to sing, one that both of you are going to sing together, correct?'

"Correct," Ally answered smiling.

"Stick around and you'll hear a new duet from Austin Moon and Ally Dawson..," Craig began.

"Right here on Good Morning Miami," Diane finished as they cut to commercial.

Austin and Ally stood and walked over the the piano. Ally sat on the bench and pulled herself up to the keys as Austin settled himself on the stool again as his band arranged themselves behind them. As soon as they were settled and ready, Craig and Diane walked over to stand in front of them for a moment.

"Welcome back to Good Morning Miami," Diane said.

"With another song for us, here is Austin Moon and Ally Dawson," Craig finished. The two hosts walked away as Ally and Austin looked into each others eyes. They waited two heartbeats and began playing.

**[ Almost Do by Taylor Swift]**

(_Ally_, **Austin**, Together)

_I bet this time of night you're still up.  
I bet you're tired from a long hard week.  
I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window looking out at the city.  
And I bet sometimes you wonder about me._

_And I just wanna tell you  
It takes everything in me not to call you._  
And I wish I could run to you.  
And I hope you know that every time I don't  
I almost do,  
I almost do.

**I bet you think I either moved on or hate you  
'Cause each time you reach out there's no reply.  
I bet it never ever occurred to you that I can't say "Hello" to you  
And risk another goodbye.**

**And I just wanna tell you  
It takes everything in me not to call you.**  
And I wish I could run to you.  
And I hope you know that every time I don't  
I almost do,  
I almost do.

Oh, we made quite a mess, babe.  
It's probably better off this way.  
And I confess, babe,  
In my dreams you're touching my face  
And asking me if I wanna try again with you.  
And I almost do.

And I just wanna tell you  
It takes everything in me not to call you.  
And I wish I could run to you.  
And I hope you know that every time I don't  
I almost do,  
I almost do.

_I bet this time of night you're still up._  
**I bet you're tired from a long hard week.**  
_I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window looking out at the city._  
**And I hope sometimes you wonder about me. **

And I hope sometimes you wonder about me.

The last few notes drift away and Austin and Ally smile at each other before finding their feet and standing to cross back over to Craig and Diane. They find their seats amidst wild, thunderous applause. They finally stand again and take a bow before the audience will calm down. Ally realizes that there is not much time left and she breathes a sigh of relief as she sits down again.

"Wow," Diane says, "There you have them, Austin and Ally. That was amazing, just a fantastic song."

Craig was nodding in agreement as he turned to face his guests. "That was great, I agree with Diane. Austin, will that be on your next album?"

Austin shrugged and sat froward, just wanting to be done. "Well, like we said earlier, we aren't sure what will happen for us together professionally at this time. We will have to talk with our record label and make that decision. For now, we're just happy that this song could help close out a really rough year."

"Exactly," Ally interjected. "I know that this song was really personal for us and there have been no decisions about it yet, but we needed to write it and get it out there."

"Can you tell us if you have any plans to resume your romance?" Craig asked slyly. "I know Miami wants to know the answer."

Austin shook his head and smiled before answering this question, which they had also requested not be asked. "Ally and I are working really hard on resuming our friendship right now. We are trying to figure out how to be friends and parents right now and that's enough for us."

Ally nodded her agreement smiling up at Austin. "Right." she said. "We are just trying to figure out how to be friends again and how to do that while doing the right thing for our son."

Diane knew there was very little time left so she pressed just a little harder. "Isn't that how you started before, though? Just as friends?"

"Yes," Ally began. "Just like Austin's song said we started as friends. We were very good friends and we would like to find our way back there."

Austin was nodding along and spoke, "Yeah, yeah. Friends is a great place to start."

"Well, unfortunately, that's all we have time for today. Austin, Ally, it was a pleasure to have you here today," Diane said.

"And we'll see all of you here next week on Good Morning Miami," Craig finished.

There was applause as the show signed off and Austin and Ally made their way back to the green room where Trish and Dez were waiting.

"You guys did great," Trish said quickly jumping up out of her seat to greet them with hugs. "But they were asking questions that they shouldn't have."

"But you did great deflecting them," Dez interjected also standing and crossing to them. "They knew you weren't going to answer them directly, but the big wigs upstairs probably made them ask."

Austin shook his head, "As soon as I saw some of the questions they wanted to ask, I knew they were going to do that, I just hope I didn't give anything away."

"Like I said, you guys did great. They didn't get any answers that we didn't want them to have."

The four of them grabbed their things and headed out of the studio into the bright Miami sunshine. As soon and Austin and Ally were back in his car heading to his parents house, Ally took a deep breath.

She looked over at Austin who looked so happy to be done with the show that she almost didn't want to ruin the mood, but she knew she had to. He was hiding something from her and she wanted, no needed, to know what it was.

"Austin?" she asked tentatively looking down at her hands twisting in her lap.

"Hmm?" he hummed back glancing at her.

"I need to know what you're keeping from me," she said firmly, turning part of the way in her seat to see his face better. She knew she was right, that he was keeping something from her, when his face paled and he opened and closed his mouth several times making him look like a fish out of water trying to get air.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice taking on a higher pitch than usual, cementing the fact that he was lying to Ally. His voice always got really pitchy when he tried to keep a secret.

Ally frowned up at Austin and turned in her seat again to face the front. She lifted her arms and crossed them tightly over her chest and pinched her lips together. Now she was upset, they hadn't even been back together for a week and he was already keeping something from her, and lying about keeping something from her to boot. She could kick him.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Austin." she accused, her voice hot and venomous. She absolutely refused to look at him, knowing he was going to try and convince her nothing was wrong.

Ally felt Austin move slightly and she saw his hand reach for hers but she slapped it away. She couldn't believe him, he was hiding something and then he thought he could touch her? No, no, no.

Austin realized that the jig was up and that he had to fix this, he had to fix this now, so he pulled into the next parking lot he saw and parked the car. He slowly turned in his seat to face Ally, who was extremely upset. Maybe keeping this from her hadn't been his best idea.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: Well this story is quickly coming to an end, maybe one more chapter after this. I have really enjoyed writing this. Thank you again for reading and reviewing. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Austin and Ally or any thing else you might recognize.**

Chapter 25

Austin took a deep breath and then another. He shook his head and looked down at his lap. How did he get himself into this mess? How did she know he was hiding something anyway? He swallowed hard and looked at Ally, who was determinedly staring out of the front window and not looking at Austin.

"Ally," he called softly reaching a hand toward her, brushing his fingers on her arm. "Will you please look at me?"

She shook her head and he could see that her chin was shaking and her eyes were rapidly filling with tears. "Ally," he said again rubbing her arm. "Please, just look at me."

She turned her head and tried to keep from losing it right then. His hazel eyes were filled with understanding and compassion and she was so upset, it didn't seem fair. It absolutely wasn't fair that Austin got to be composed and she just had to struggle to keep her footing, emotionally speaking.

She took a shaky breath and blew it out slowly. "I know something is going on. I know you are keeping something from me. I don't know what's going on and if this, whatever this is between us, is going to work, you can't do that. You can't keep things from me."

"I don't know what is going on, but I do know that for the past couple of days I've been waiting for something really bad to happen. It's making me sick, I've been nauseous and heartsick and afraid to talk to you. I hate feeling this way," her feelings just came pouring out of her, all the fear and apprehension from the last two days exploding out at Austin.

He was more surprised than he thought he would be. Austin realized, finally, that there was more going on than he had originally thought. He looked at Ally and tried to put himself in her shoes, which he should have done before. He felt her anger, her disappointment in him, her fear. That's what cut through him the most, her fear, she was afraid. Not of him, but of what he could do, of what he had done. He was starting to feel a little sick himself.

Austin sighed as his eyes took in her face, her features set with sadness and disappointment. He realized that she was right, he had had no right to keep anything from her. "I'm so sorry, I guess I just kind of got ahead of where we were. I thought that being back together with you and having you agree to move in with me meant that things could automatically go back to the way things used to be."

He took a deep breath and continued. "I just didn't imagine that the old Ally, the one I didn't hurt so badly would have reacted this way. I forgot that the Ally I am with now was hurt recently, and badly, by me. Things aren't the way they used to be, they're probably never going to be exactly the way they used to be and I should have known better."

Ally listened closely and was surprised that he still hadn't told her what he was keeping from her, but she knew that this needed to be dealt with, too. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around herself as she tried to figure out how to answer him. "Austin," she started. "The old Ally, the one you didn't hurt, and the new Ally, the one you did, would have both felt the same way if they had heard you tell another girl you were keeping something from them."

Austin cocked his head to one side and quirked an eyebrow at her. "What? What are you talking about?"

"I heard you and Kira the other day. You said that you weren't lying to me and she said you should come clean. I know you were talking about me. I heard you," she said angrily, her voice starting to shake from all of the emotion in it.

Austin visibly deflated and looked guiltily away. "I didn't know you heard us. I thought you were angry about the song change. I'm sorry, I just wanted to surprise you with something, but maybe I don't have that right anymore. It's asking too much for you to trust me, isn't it?"

"Wait," Ally said holding up a hand. Austin turned back to face her. "You think I got mad at you because you changed the song you sang today?"

Austin looked at her quizzically. "Are you saying you weren't mad that I changed the song and didn't tell you. Because I'm pretty sure you were."

She pursed her lips and blew air sharply out of her nose, a tell-tale sign that she was becoming more and more frustrated. "Yes, Austin, I was mad that you changed the song on me. You knew how difficult that particular song would be on me and you didn't give me any warning to deal with all of the emotions and feelings and just everything that that song would bring back to me."

She sighed as she looked up at him. "How dare you do that to me, when I gave you every opportunity to deal with the song that you said broke your heart every time you heard it. Why didn't it occur to you that 'I Think About You' would do the same thing to me? And why couldn't you give me the time to deal with those emotions privately, like I did for you? Why did you make me suffer through that on live TV?"

Austin sat back for a moment and realized what he had done. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm so sorry," he said again, he was apologizing a lot today. "I should never have done that, changed the song without giving you time to deal with it, you're right."

He sighed again and looked at Ally. "You have to know that I didn't mean to hurt you by singing that song. I thought it would help move us into the future. That song is us, so us, and I just wanted everyone to hear it. You're right, though, I didn't consider how you would feel when I sang it. No, that's not entirely true, I thought you would feel the way you did when I sang it the first time."

"I forgot that things have changed dramatically since then and all I can do is say I'm sorry and that I'll try to remember that I need to think a little more before I do something like that again." Austin looked back at Ally and he could tell she was deep in thought. He reached a hand out and skimmed his fingers over her cheek, which was damp with her tears. He brushed them away as she closed her eyes and turned her head slightly so her cheek was cupped in his hand.

"Austin, if this is going to work, you are going to need to be aware of how the things you do might affect me," she said softly, looking in his eyes. "Aware of the fact that you have to be open and honest and accommodating and compromising. You are not the only person in this relationship and you can't behave as if you are."

"I am really trying here, to let you in," Ally continued. "But you are making that really hard on me right now."

He nodded and opened his mouth to apologize again when she raised a hand to stop him from speaking. "Please don't apologize again. Just try to remember that a year has gone by and many things have changed and we are not the same people we used to be. I have some serious trust issues and you have changed as well. We need to look at who we are now and figure out how these two people can make something work."

He nodded and slid his hand down her face to glide over her neck. "Okay, I won't apologize again. I will try to remember who you are now and who I am now and go from there. I love you and I want to be in your life and Tyler's life."

He leaned forward to capture her lips with his and she let him. She let him because this worked. This always worked, this feeling when they kissed that they were invincible, incredible, marvelous, together. His hand slipped into the hair at the nape of her neck and tilted her head up to meet his better. He begged for entrance to her mouth with his tongue and she sighed and parted her lips so he could plunder her mouth. Once again, they sank into the kiss and it was all that existed for them.

When they disentangled themselves, they were both breathing hard and Ally's hair was mussed from Austin's hands and Austin's shirt was wrinkled from being wrapped in Ally's hands. Their foreheads rested together as they tried to catch their breath.

She tilted her head up to look at him and before he could lean down and kiss her sense away again she spoke. "Austin, I still need to know about whatever you and Kira were talking about."

He nodded and looked down at her, getting lost in her eyes. "I know. It's nothing bad. I just was trying to surprise you in a good way and I'm asking you to trust me for just a little bit longer. I am sure that you'll like this surprise."

She drew in a deep breath and before she could form an answer, he was speaking again. "It's not going to happen in a television studio in front of a live audience. The only people who will be there will be me and you and Tyler. This is something I want to do for you, and Tyler. Please?"

She looked up at Austin again and her eyes roamed his, searching for any sign of deceit, any sign of deception. Ally couldn't find any but she was still afraid and it broke his heart to see the fear bloom in her eyes.

"Ally, I have no right to ask you to trust me right now," he whispered. "I don't know what I was thinking except I just wanted to see you light up in front of me when I surprised you, but I can see that all this has done is drive a wedge between us. I really got ahead of myself and, in trying to forget that this last year ever happened, I put my feelings ahead of yours."

Ally sniffled and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall again. She took a shaky breath and looked up at Austin her chocolate eyes swimming with tears and anxiety and impatience as she waited for him to finish.

Austin knew he had to tell her now, he had to make that look on her face go away. He reached over to the glove box and extracted a small box wrapped with a pink bow and handed it to her. "This isn't how I wanted to do this, but I know that I can't ask you to wait a moment longer. Kira's cousin is a home inspector."

Ally swallowed and looked from the box in her hand to Austin's face as she tried to process what he had just said. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked in confusion.

Austin smiled and tapped the box, "Open this and all will be revealed."

Ally untied the bow and set it aside before pulling the top of the box off. She stared at he contents briefly, her heart beating out of her chest, before she took a deep breath and looked back at Austin. "It's a key," she stated softly, not knowing what it was for.

He smiled brightly at her and nodded. "It is a key. It's your key. Your key to our house. Kira introduced me to her cousin, I told you he was a home inspector, and he looked over the house and nothing was wrong so I signed the papers last night. We're home owners."

"Home owners...my key...what?" Ally stammered, trying to ask him all the questions inside he at once, and failing. She just looked at him and raised her eyebrows, asking him to clarify.

Austin reached out and picked up the key, he turned it this way and that, letting the light reflect off of it and he marveled at how such a small thing could have been such a big problem. "This key," he said placing it back into the box, "Is for the house we own."

She looked at Austin and then back down at the key several time s as she replayed their conversation in her head. It finally sunk in that all he was hiding from her was that he had bought a house, which she already knew he was going to do. "You bought a house and everything is final? You can move in anytime?"

Austin smiled down at Ally and said, "_We_ bought a house, your name is on it too, and we can move in anytime. As soon as we buy some furniture."

As Ally beamed up at Austin, she felt the fear in her mind slide away and the hope in her heart blossom to life. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, maybe it was time to realize that Austin was staying here in Miami, that he wanted to be with her and their son, and that maybe just maybe things were going to work out fine. It was time to start being optimistic again, pessimism didn't suit her anyway.

"Thank you," she said and Austin paused, millimeters away from kissing her again.

"For what?" he breathed over her lips causing her to shiver.

"For coming back, for making us whole again, for Tyler, for everything," Ally breathed back.

"You're welcome, but I should be the one thanking you" he smiled.

"For what?" she asked smiling.

"For this," he said just before he crashed his lips to hers, capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: Well, I think this is probably it for this story. I have a new story I am working on, which I will probably start posting next week. I have ideas for a couple more chaptered stories, I just have to get them a little more fleshed out before I start writing them. Thank you to everyone who read this story and to every one who favorited and followed and reviewed. Keep an eye out and you should see something more from me next week. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Disney's Austin and Ally, I'm just taking them out to play and I do not own "You Can Come To Me."**

Chapter 26

The couple in the car broke apart, breathing heavily and grinning like imbeciles at each other. Ally laughed as she looked down at the key in the box in her hand. Austin quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What?" he asked causing her to laugh even harder.

It took her a minute or two to control herself as her laughter finally subsided into giggles. "I think I have been making myself crazy with all sorts of wild theories of what has been going on since I overheard you and Kira. I should have just asked you instead of letting my imagination get away from me."

Austin shook his head at her and his mouth twisted in a grimace. "I should have listened to Kira, she was right. She said we weren't ready for surprises yet and I didn't want to believe her. She's never going to let me live this down."

Ally almost started giggling again, but he looked so bothered that she tried to control herself. "Austin, she was right, we weren't ready for it, as evidenced by my huge hissy fit moments ago, but we are going to get back there sooner or later, preferably sooner. You used to do the best surprises. I miss them."

He raised his eyebrows as he heard the laughter in her voice. "You're going to enjoy her not letting me live this down aren't you?" he asked.

"Oh yes," All answered as the giggles started bubbling out of her again.

Austin rolled his eyes at her and jerked his head toward the front of the car. "So are we good? Can we go get our son and go look at our new house now?"

Ally couldn't stop giggling long enough to answer so she just nodded and laughed harder. Austin rolled his eyes again and turned to start the car and pull back out onto the street.

…...

Austin had Ally open the front door of their new house as he was juggling Tyler and trying not to get knocked over by his ecstatic mother. "Mom," he said in exasperation. "Do you mind? Are you trying to get me to drop your grandson here?"

Mimi flushed as she bounced from foot to foot. "Sorry, sweetie," she said excitedly. "I can't help myself, this is so exciting. You bought a house and you're going to move Ally and Tyler in and you're so grown up and it just so, so exciting."

Austin was amazed as he watched his mom go from being happy excited to sad excited and back to happy excited, she even had to brush a tear away. Ally got the front door open and she and Mimi hurried inside leaving Austin standing there in astonishment. He glanced at his father who was waiting patiently behind him on the walk. "What just happened?" Austin asked.

Mike smiled and clapped his son on the shoulder. "She's just really proud of you. And happy for you and Ally and Tyler. And sad that you're so grown-up. And...I don't really need to continue do I? You get the picture? All the feelings?"

Austin laughed as he led his father into his new house and turned to face him. "No, I get it. Really excited mom."

Mike laughed as he followed Austin through the house. They finally found the girls again on the back patio looking over the pool.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked his parents as he stood next to a beaming Ally.

Mimi hugged her son for a long moment before pulling back and wiping a tear away. "I think it's perfect," she beamed at him. "It will make you a lovely home."

"Now we just need to fill it with furniture and make the extra room on the main level into a studio..." Austin began.

"And decorate Tyler's room and buy dishes for the kitchen," Ally interjected. "And the list could go on and on."

She smiled up at Austin as he looked down at her. He groaned and said, "There's going to be a lot of shopping involved isn't there?"

"Oh yes," she agreed and she couldn't help teasing him with her next words.. "And you will have to be there every step of the way or else I'll be forced to take Trish with me."

Austin drew his eyebrows together as he tried to imagine their house filled with the things that Trish would try hard to get Ally to buy. Animal prints were the first things that came to mind and he caved. "No, you don't need to take her. I will help you."

Ally laughed and leaned toward Mimi as Austin and his dad wandered away talking about grills and a basketball hoop. "He only agreed because he knows Trish's taste doesn't quite match up with his. He hates shopping for stuff like this."

Mimi laughed as well and agreed, but she knew her son would be spending as much time as possible with the lovely young woman next to her.

…...

Over lunch with his parents, Austin finally realized something. Ally was the one he was meant to spend the rest of his life with. She made him happy and he wanted to feel this way everyday from now on. His heart fluttered a little as he realized this, he was only nineteen, really young to feel this way. His mind tried to argue for freedom, but he reminded himself that staying away from Ally was not an option. He loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life showing her how much.

Ally was laughing at a joke Mike had told when she noticed the serious look on Austin's face, his thinking face. She wondered what had him so deep in thought and her mind tried to interject with opinions and theories, but she shunted them away. She trusted him to tell her what he was thinking about when he was ready. She could wait. She loved him and she wasn't going to let her mind run away with her again.

…...

Later that afternoon found Austin and Ally in the middle of a huge furniture store arguing mildly about how big the TV in the basement should be and whether they should get a leather or micro-fiber couch when Austin stopped pushing the stroller and half turned to her and blurted, "Marry me."

Ally froze, her mind still whirling over furniture and TVs. She looked up at Austin who was hiding under a baseball cap and behind dark glasses. "What?" she asked.

He smiled down at her and looked briefly at his snoozing son, "I want you to marry me. I want to go to bed with you every night. I want to wake up with you every morning. I have spent the better part of this last year kicking myself for losing you and promising myself if I ever got another chance with you, I wouldn't let it slip through my fingers."

"I want to watch our son grow up," Austin continued. "I want to see you sing to him and nurse him and love him through his life. I want to enjoy every moment that we will have; holidays with family, vacations with just the two of us, taking our kids to Disney and watching their faces light up, going to award shows and staying home together. Every thing and any thing we can do together, that's what I want. Marry me."

Ally's mind spun with possibilities, every word from his mouth conjured up images that filled her, images she wanted to see and do with him. She wanted everything he had talked about and more, so much more. She knew she would enjoy every moment of the wild and happy and chaotic and blissful life it would be with him. She knew there was only one answer for him.

Ally smiled and looked into Austin's beautiful hazel eyes as she gave him the only answer she could, "Yes."

His face lit up as he swung his arms around her waist and lifted her so he could spin her around and around before kissing her breathless.

She started laughing as she looked up at his, her face glowing with happiness. "Yes," she said again. "I will definitely marry you."

…...

He was again standing in the doorway of her room, watching her nurse his child. This time was different though. He actually knew what she was doing and he was so happy because she was his that his heart was filled to bursting.

Ally looked up and smiled, the glowing smile of a mother in love with her child and with him, his angel. She completed him in ways that he had never thought of, ways he never expected. She finished nursing and laid the sleeping child across her lap as she struggled to fix her blouse, the ring on her finger sparkling in the moonlight flooding through the open windows.

Austin stepped forward and scooped up the sleeping child gently, trying hard not to wake the baby. He was successful and snuggled his child close to his chest, amazed again at the overwhelming feeling of love that washed over him every time he looked into that tiny face.

He wandered over to the crib set up in the corner of the room and settled the baby brushing his fingers over the peach-fuzz covered head. Ally stepped next to him and he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her snugly into his side, where she fit perfectly, just like always. He looked down at her before glancing at the sleeping child.

"Mommy," came the small voice from the doorway, causing the couple at the crib to turn and face the young child standing there.

"Tyler," Ally scolded softly. "What are doing up?"

Their three-year old son shrugged his shoulders as he yawned hugely. "Wasn't sleepy," he pouted.

Austin chuckled as he gestured for the little boy to join them, "Come here, buddy." Austin leaned down and picked up his son, who automatically laid his head on Austin's shoulder and rubbed his tired eyes with his chubby fists.

Ally leaned back into Austin as his free arm snuggled her again and she reached up to rub her son's back. "Do you want to help us say goodnight to your sister?" she asked him.

Tyler nodded sleepily and blinked slowly. "Want to say goodnight to Tessa and hear the night-night song."

Austin chuckled again and looked down at Ally. "You want to start or should I?"

"I'll start," she smiled as she took a deep breath and started to sing. "When you're on your own  
Drowning alone..."

As they sang, Tyler's eyes drifted closed and he grew heavy and warm in Austin's arms. They finished singing and Austin went to tuck Tyler into bed as Ally began to get ready for bed herself. When he returned he found his wife sliding into bed.

He got ready for bed as well and slid in next to her, reaching out for her and pulling her close. He placed a soft kiss on the lips she turned up to meet his and smiled against them. "I love you, wife."

Ally smiled back and whispered, "I love you, husband."


End file.
